The New Order
by Minielf
Summary: With Aizen dead at last, a period of peace and prosperity has come to Soul Society. But conflicts soon emerge over the shape of this new order. Sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and second part of the New Order Trilogy. Will feature many character pairings.
1. Chapter 1: Homecoming

Bleach Fanstory 3: The New Order

Bleach and all of its characters are owned by Tite Kubo. Any original characters that appear in this story are my own creations.

Synopsis: This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, which was a continuation of Bleach After the War. It is not neccessary to have read the previous two works, but it helps for people who may find some of the situations featured unfamiliar. As the second part of the New Order trilogy, it will directly cross-over with another upcoming story, Shinigami Academy, and each story will reference the other on certain occassions.

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Chapter 1: Homecoming

Kurosaki Ichigo stepped through the official Seireimon of Seireitei, glad to be home at last. After a grueling three week trek across the real world, Soul Society now seemed even homelier than ever.

"I think we've got something catching up to do," he said. The woman by his side couldn't agree more. She was Kuchiki Rukia, Lieutenant of fifth division, but more importantly, happily married to Ichigo. She was still in a state of bliss after what she and Ichigo went through on the beaches of Hawaii. The two hundred or so Shinigami that formed the division were also more relaxed and lazier than usual, having spent their time living with the normal humans. Some of them still wanted to stay there for longer.

As the entire fifth division finally entered through the Seireimon, they were greeted by several of Soul Society's most powerful Shinigami. Unohana Retsu, Captain Commander of the Gotei 13, stood in the centre alongside her lieutenant Kotetsu Isane. Flanking the commander on both sides were the captains of 6th and 13th divisions, Kuchiki Byakuya and Shiba Isshin. Ichigo and Rukia were both delighted to see their faces again.

"Welcome back Captain Kurosaki," Unohana said. "I'm sure you and lieutenant Kuchiki have a lot of information to discuss." Ichigo nodded. "But I also know that the two of you must be tired after spending so long in the real world, so for the rest of today you can relax and recuperate in your quarters. The captain's meeting won't be convened until tomorrow."

"Thank you Commander Unohana," Ichigo bowed. Unohana stepped aside and allowed Ichigo and Rukia to walk past. As they did so, Ichigo ordered his squad to return to the barracks first. He and Rukia however, stopped alongside Byakuya and Isshin.

"How was the real world son? Did you enjoy it?" Isshin asked with a sly grin.

"Oh you have no idea," Ichigo grinned back. Isshin saw through his words and suddenly broke into a laugh.

"So that's what took you so long to get back," he chuckled. "Well, I'll be sending greetings to Rukia-san real soon."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Rukia asked. Both Ichigo and Isshin were too embarrassed to answer.

"Please, have some sense of decency Isshin," Byakuya cautioned, before looking at Rukia. "I am pleased to say that the Shiba manor has been fully refurbished and is undergoing its final touches. Within a day or so it will be ready for you to move in."

"Thanks a lot for that Byakuya. But I prefer to stay in the division quarters for the moment, at least until we settle down," Ichigo said. Byakuya and Isshin nodded, and after a final set of greetings, Ichigo and Rukia were allowed to return to their division headquarters.

Upon arriving at the front gates of the barracks, Ichigo stared up at the ying and yang sign, the new symbol for the division. When he and Rukia entered the grounds of the division, they were pleased to see that not much had changed since they left it. As they walked through various sets of buildings to their residential quarters, they were greeted by numerous squad members who had just finished settling in. Ichigo reached the door of his office and walked inside. He headed straight for the captain's desk and sat upon it.

"Ah, it feels nice to sit in this chair again," he said. "I almost forgot I was a captain during those weeks when we were on holidays."

"Well, at least you have something to remind you," Rukia said. "All I have is my lieutenant badge." She began packing away some of the stuff she had brought over from the real world. Ichigo however saw the huge pile of papers stacked upon his desk and sighed. _Maybe it isn't so nice to come back after all, _he thought. For the rest of the day he and Rukia sorted through the pile of paperwork. Most of the documents were requests from the Shinigami Academy. As the new headmaster of the school, Ichigo had the final say on all applications. Unfortunately this also meant that all of the applications made to the academy were sent to his office. As a result he had received more than a thousand applications. As he signed each of the forms he gave them to Rukia who placed in a big black box. When he finished going through them all she packed the box up and ordered a squad member to take it down to the academy.

"Phew, all of the paperwork is done!" Ichigo exclaimed. He looked at the clock on the wall. "Three hours sitting there sure does kill."

"It's not as bad as having to stand for three hours," Rukia moaned as she walked over to the bed. Just as she lay down she felt a stinging pain in her abdomen.

"What's the matter Rukia?" Ichigo asked as he sat beside her.

"I feel an excruciating pain around my waist for some reason," she replied. "It's coming from inside of me."

"An internal pain?" Ichigo was confused. Then he remembered the joke his father had said to him when they returned back. "Maybe you should get yourself checked out by the fourth division."

"What, you want me to get examined by Tessai and Hachi?" Rukia asked, exasperated. Ichigo suddenly had images of those two burly guys touching her in sensitive spots.

"Okay, maybe that isn't such a good idea…" he mused. "I know, you could ask Unohana-san to check you out."

"You want me to speak to the Commander?" Rukia asked. Ichigo nodded.

"After all, she was the former captain of fourth division and no doubt she and Isane would know what is wrong with you."

"Alright, I'll go and ask her tomorrow." Ichigo kissed Rukia in the cheek and covered her with a blanket. He however didn't feel like sleeping yet. As the sun slowly set upon Seireitei, Ichigo walked out into his division's gardens and had a little stroll. As he did so, he spotted someone standing outside the gate. When he opened the gate for a peak, he was suddenly greeted by a sharp sword in the face.

"Long time no see, Ichigo," Kenpachi said with a devilish smile. Ichigo was so taken aback that he fell onto his rear end.

"Kenpachi! Why are you here?" he asked.

"I just stopped by for a greeting, that's all. I heard you were back, so I couldn't resist coming over to have a spar with you." Sweat bands started appearing on Ichigo's forehead when he heard the word 'spar' come out of Kenpachi's mouth.

"Eh, sorry, I'm kind of worn out from my trip and I'm not really in tip top shape," he half-lied. "Maybe next time, okay?"

"Tch, fine then," Kenpachi turned around.

"Say hi to Rukia-san for me will you Ichi?" Yachiru suddenly popped up and asked. Ichigo nodded for a bit and watched as the two oddballs from the eleventh division walked off.

"That was close," he said to himself. "Kenpachi is the one guy I hate to fight against." Discouraged from staying outside, he returned to his office and began writing a series of notes in preparation for tomorrow's meeting.

When Ichigo woke up the next day, he saw Rukia had already gone. _She must have gone to see Unohana-san_, he thought. After putting on his captain's haori and snacking on some rice balls, he headed for the first division barracks. Upon arriving at the gate, he was greeted by the captain of eighth division, Abarai Renji.

"Yo, Ichigo, I heard about what happened after we departed," Renji said.

"Yeah, it was quite a rollercoaster for us," Ichigo said. "But Rukia and I had a great time in Hawaii."

"Really? What did you do there?" Ichigo looked around and saw that the other captains who had gathered didn't pay much notice. Then he whispered into Renji's ear.

"You what?" Renji stammered. Ichigo asked him to keep his voice down. "So you and Rukia finally did it huh? Well, I guess this finally removes any chance I had to claim her for myself."

"Ha, it's not like you had much of a chance anyway," Ichigo teased. Renji was briefly ticked off by the insult, but then cooled down and grinned.

"I don't really care though. Marriage is too much of a hassle for me to ever go through, plus I've already done 'that' heaps of times anyway," he gloated.

"What, you mean you've had sex lots of times?" Ichigo asked in complete shock.

"Why are you surprised? Lisa is my lieutenant after all, plus you know how much a sleazebag the former captain Kyoraku was."

"Oh right." Ichigo remembered how much of a pervert Lisa was. "I'm guessing you and her have done it several times already." Renji nodded with a stoic expression.

"You won't believe what we get up to. And usually we do something every time." Renji's words make Ichigo feel sick inside, for it brought up images of all sorts of potential acts that a pervert like Lisa would enjoy.

"I don't want to hear anymore then," Ichigo said. Renji laughed and patted him on the shoulder as the two of them walked through the division's gate.

Soon, the remaining captains had all arrived. They sat down on a circular table, which had thirteen chairs. When the twelve captains were all seated, Captain Commander Unohana herself walked over and sat in the central chair.

"I thank all of you for coming here on such short notice," Unohana began. "As you know, over the past three weeks a number of major events and discoveries occurred in the real world. Captain Kurosaki, may you recount what you saw on your mission?" Ichigo nodded and began telling the story of his mission. He avoided mentioning parts that solely concerned Rukia and himself, only focusing on the important events. By the time he was finished, most of the captains were shell shocked. Some, such as Mayuri, Kensei, Rose and Love, had some knowledge of what Ichigo discovered, but none of them could comprehend the sheer scope of Ichigo's story.

"There you have it, the full extent of how Aizen Sousuke planned the formation of the Arrancars and the creation of the royal key," Ichigo said. "But what's more important is the fact that there are potential followers of Aizen's beliefs out there, whether it's in Soul Society or in the real world. Unless they are hunted down, they can easily cause trouble for us."

"I agree completely," Captain of the fourth division, Tsukabishi Tessai said, "I've seen what hollowfication gas does first hand, and the prospect of a group of people with access of it presents a dangerous set of circumstances."

"What do you suggest we do about it then?" Captain of the tenth division Hitsugaya Toshiro asked. "Even though we're back up to full strength the Gotei 13 does not have the members to patrol every corner of the real world. Just deploying a force to cover a Jureichi such as Tokyo would stretch our current resources." Some of the other captains, such as Kenpachi and Soifon, nodded.

"Captain Hitsugaya raised an important question: what needs to be done so that we prevent someone like Aizen Sousuke from ever arising again?" Unohana asked. "As the events of the past five years have shown, the Gotei 13 has been too reliant on its captains as its prime military strength. The loss or defection of even a few captains would present a serious blow to us. Of greater importance is the return of civilian control of Seireitei. Soul Society has been under military rule for far too long. As such, from today, we will begin returning the government of Seireitei over to a civilian body." Upon hearing Unohana's words, some of the captains, most notable Kensei, Rose and Love, objected vehemently.

"Are we going to let the Central 46 or its reincarnation take control of everything again?" Kensei said. "All of you here should be well aware of the mistakes and the abuses of power that were made under their rule. They were willing to exile captains like Urahara and Tessai, and were prepared to send me, Love, Rose and Shinji, captains who were unfortunate victims, to death!" Kensei realized he had overreacted, but his sentiment shared by many.

"Captain Muguruma has a point to make," Byakuya noted. "The Central 46 had a rather sketchy record in terms of decisions, and some of its laws were questionable. An example would be Kuchiki Rukia's execution. Even if Aizen Sousuke had not masqueraded as the Central 46, such a decision would have raised serious questions of morality. Thus I believe that a civilian body should not be given the absolute power over laws." Byakuya's words carried far more weight than Kensei's, given that he was the head of the Kuchiki clan.

"If the Central 46 is too corrupt a body to replace, then what other options do we have other than keeping military rule?" the captain of second division Soifon asked. For a while, the entire room was silent. None of the captains had a good alternative suggestion. All of them were so accustomed to the old order that they couldn't think of something else. Ichigo however, had been thinking of the ideas he had jotted down last night as he listened to the other captains. When it was clear that no one else was willing to put forward a suggestion, he started talking.

"May I suggest an alternative to the Central 46?" he asked. The other captains along with Unohana listened attentively. "As a former human in the real world, I've had experience with how human governments function, and judging from what I've seen of Soul Society, the human governments have much better laws and are also much more democratic. From what I gather, the Central 46 was like an oligarchy, wasn't it? A group of judges and nobles who had the supreme power to make laws judgments. Any decision they made was absolute, not even the Gotei 13 could refuse to follow their orders. Such a system of government would be considered totalitarian in the real world, and most human countries abolished anything resembling it long ago."

"Your words are of great interest, Captain Kurosaki," Unohana said. "May you explain exactly how human governments function." Ichigo looked at Isshin, at Tessai and at the Vizard captains. All of them silently nodded, as if they knew what Ichigo was talking about.

"Well, it is kind of simple. Most human countries are democracies. They are ruled by the common people. People elect their leaders, and though these leaders make the decisions, the people are free to disagree with them. If a government is perceived to be corrupt or tyrannical, both the people and the military are free to overthrow them and install a new government. To put the example in Soul Society, imagine if the ordinary citizens of Rukongai had a voice in the running of Seireitei. If they could choose leaders that could govern them, leaders that are concerned with the interests of the people, and not with their own petty interests. From the moment I first heart of Soul Society, I imagined it to be a place like heaven, where everyone was equal. Now though, Soul Society is more like a feudal society, with the noble families enjoying the highest status, the Gotei 13 divisions acting as individual military forces, and the Rukongai being nothing more than downtrodden peasants. All of this can be changed if instead Soul Society were to look more like a democracy."

"I would like to add to what Ichigo has said so far," Isshin said. "The system of government he is talking about is a representative democracy. Both the average people of Rukongai and the nobles of Seireitei would have the opportunity to elect representatives that not only serve their interests but would then form the governing body of that would run Seireitei. This body would have the power to make laws, but its decisions will not be absolute. There will be another of checks in place to prevent the body from abusing its power. Annual or regular elections can be held so that if the people dislike the current government, they remove it and replace it with a new one. A separate body of judges similar to the Central 46 but without their former status can be created to administer the laws but also to keep a watch on the government. Finally the Gotei 13 can remain a standing military force that can take over the government and install military rule if the situation demands it."

Ichigo was happy that his father was able to elaborate on what he had said. Those who had been in the real world for a long time, such as Kensei, Love, Rose and Tessai, were delighted at the idea that Kurosaki son and father had proposed. The other captains however had mixed reactions. Some, such as Hitsugaya, Kenpachi and Renji, struggled to comprehend the whole thing. Others, such as Byakuya, Mayuri or Soifon, fully understood the system of government but had serious issues with it.

"I commend the two of you for suggesting such a well thought out alternative to the Central 46, but I think it would be too unworkable in the form you laid out," Byakuya said. "Seireitei and Rukongai are too different for both to be run by the same government. The citizens of Rukongai are more concerned with their own interests, whereas the nobles of Seireitei at least have some concern for the wider world. In addition, where would the Gotei 13 fit in such a government."

"You bring up a good point Byakuya," Love said. "But I believe there is a way we can compromise. You do know that Urahara is busy reconstructing Karakura Cho at the moment. I don't know what he's going to turn it into, but given that it is situated in the middle of several Rukongai districts, it could serve as the seat of government for the Rukongai citizens. Meanwhile, we could bring the Central 46 back, but this time each of the judges should be elected by the nobles and the Shinigami. Their decisions will not be absolute but rather be adjudicated by a separate body of judges as Isshin suggested. As for the Gotei 13, it can be mobilized during war time and emergencies, but in peace time, why don't we let it continue to function as a bureaucracy? I'm sure all of us would get bored once conflict dies down and there's nothing to do."

Love's suggestion was taken well by the other captains. Ichigo thought it was a nice way of altering a human world democracy to fit into Soul Society's convoluted structure.

"It appears that everyone here agrees with the model that has been jointly proposed by Captains Kurosaki, Shiba and Aigawa. But there are a lot of steps that need to be done to make such a model work," Unohana said. "First, a group of captains should work together to come up with a draft paper version of the model. Then it must be put forth to the rest of the Gotei 13 and the nobles of Soul Society. Finally if all goes as planned, the citizens of Rukongai need to be educated and informed about the model. Doing all of this will require a level of organization and commitment that Soul Society has never seen. Is each of you ready to make the commitment to ensure it works?" Unohana looked at her fellow captains, who all nodded in agreement.

"Now, there's another issue that needs resolving before the meeting is adjourned. As Captain Kurosaki outlined in his report, the real world is still full of spiritual activity, and there may be individuals out there still sympathetic to Aizen Sousuke," Unohana said. "The current military strength of the Gotei 13 is indeed insufficient to handle everything in the real world. As a solution, there should be a exponential increase in the number of Shinigami, from the current number of two and a half thousand, to roughly ten thousand within fifteen years time. Such an increase would require the Shinigami Academy to expand its recruitment and accelerate its training schedules. Captain Kurosaki, are you capable of handling such a task?"

"Of course Captain Commander," Ichigo nodded. "I was contemplating such a thing, given that we've received so many spirits with high spiritual pressures recently. I will order the staff at the academy to implement a five year program that will enable recruits to join the Gotei 13 as soon as possible. These graduates will still need to be trained and supervised once in their divisions however, but it is a great way to boost up current numbers in a short time."

"Very well, each of you should take in what has been said at this meeting and start organizing your divisions for this new order," Unohana said. "With the passing of Aizen Sousuke, Soul Society finally has a chance to correct the mistakes of the past and become stronger and better than before." With that Unohana adjourned the meeting and dismissed the captains. As Ichigo headed out the door, Renji came up alongside him again.

"Man, you sure kick-started something big," Renji said.

"Well, given what we've been through, a return to the old days is out of the question isn't it?" Ichigo asked. Renji nodded.

"Man, anything would be better compared to the Central 46, or Aizen's reign again. Mind you, we're all going to be working our asses of to ensure this idea gets transformed to reality." Ichigo nodded with a smile. He bid Renji goodbye and headed for his division quarters.

Upon returning to his office, Ichigo saw that Rukia was sleeping in the bed again.

"How did the meeting go Ichigo?" Rukia asked.

"It was great, a lot of things happened," he replied. "But we can discuss them later. I'm more concerned with what happened with your check-up." Rukia's face suddenly turned a bright red. She hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"Well, um, I spoke to the Commander who arranged for Isane to do a thorough inspection," she began. "Insane was really nice and guided me along nicely. She did some tests of my blood, my reiatsu, my spirit energy and my internal body."

"And what did she discover?" Ichigo asked. Rukia fell silent for a moment.

"Ichigo, I think I'm pregnant."

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Notes: People who haven't read A Bleached Honeymoon may be shocked at the sudden twist at the end, but for those who have it's a natural progression of the conclusion of that story. Far from being a cheap plot device, Rukia's pregnancy and the future children she will give birth to is something I've planned on doing since After the War. Rukia and Ichigo are not the only ones who will experience major relationship changes. Lots of characters will be the subject of pairings, but some of them will be a surprise to shipping fans!


	2. Chapter 2: The Shiba Family

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: After returning from their round the world adventure, Ichigo and Rukia resume their duties as Captain and Lieutenant of the 5th division. However, Rukia soon experiences cramps around her waist. Whilst Rukia underwent a check up courtesy of Isane, Ichigo outlined his vision for a new Soul Society during the meeting of the captains. With the help of his father, he convinces the other captains along with Captain Commander Unohana to begin drafting a plan for two different organisations, one for the Rukongai districts, the other a revived Central 46, both of which would have representatives directly elected by the people. Ichigo also convinces Unohana to rapidly increase the size of the Gotei 13 through the Shinigami Academy. As the gears of the new order of Soul Society start to turn, Ichigo comes home to a shocking surprise: Rukia has found that she is pregnant...

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Chapter 2: The Shiba Family

"Are you serious?" Ichigo couldn't believe what Rukia had just said. "You're really pregnant?" Rukia nodded firmly.

"When Isane did a full spirit body scan of me, she detected two strange reiatsu anomalies coming from my abdomen. She did a closer inspection of them and discovered that I had two new spirits forming inside my womb," Rukia explained.

"Two new spirits? Does this mean we're going to have twins?" Ichigo was almost beside himself. He had anticipated something like this would happen after their night of passion, but this was something beyond his wildest dreams.

"I'm scared Ichigo," Rukia confessed. "I don't know what's happening to me. My whole body feels weird, and I can feel tiny beats right here." She rubbed against her belly. Ichigo laid his head over her waist and tried to feel the beats.

"Yes, I can definitely sense them," Ichigo said as he stood up. "Well, it looks like we're in a fix. As much as I want to feel you your pain, I can't begin to imagine what you're going through."

"What should we do Ichigo? As you said, no one's given birth in Soul Society for decades. Is there anyone around we can ask for help?"

"Um, I could ask dad for advice, but he was a human when I was born so I don't think that will do you good…" Ichigo pondered for a moment, before an idea came into his head. "What about the Shinigami women's association? I think I recall Renji's lieutenant Lisa telling me she was pregnant when she got turned into a Vizard although I can't recall the details. In any case, they're probably the best option at the moment."

"I'll speak to them then," Rukia said. "I'm just worried as to how I'm going to cope with my normal duties whilst carrying children."

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo laid a hand on Rukia's forehead. "Now that Aizen is defeated, there won't be any need for us captains and lieutenants to fight. As for the paperwork, I will take care of them all. You just care of yourself and our precious children, okay?"

"Alright," Rukia smiled. The two of them were silent for a while, before a thought came to Rukia's mind. "Are you going to tell your father and Nii-sama?"

"Well, obviously I need to. Dad will be super excited at the news, but I think we should wait a while before we tell Byakuya. Or maybe you can tell him in person."

"I'll speak to him then. But do you think I should get another check-up?"

"It wouldn't hurt to do another. You haven't told me what gender the babies are going to be, so I'm assuming you don't know yet." Rukia nodded.

"At this stage they're still too undeveloped to make out. But if we were to have, say, a boy and girl, what would we name them?"

"Hmm, that's a tough question," Ichigo thought deeply for a moment, and really tried to reach in the depths of his heart. "If it was a girl, there's one name I'd call her; the name of my dead mother, Masaki. As for a boy, I'm at a loss to think of a name. Do you have one in mind?" It was Rukia's turn to think deeply. Out of all the names she remembered, only one made her recall fond memories.

"If it was a boy, the only name I'd give him is…Kaien," she said. Ichigo wasn't surprised at all by her choice. With her past history it seemed obvious she would want to honor his memory.

"I guess this settles it then. Hopefully we're going to have a daughter and a son. Then we call them Masaki and Kaien. How does that sound."

"That sounds wonderful," Rukia smiled happily. "Your mother and Kaien-dono will live on in our children."

Over the next few days, Rukia underwent further check-ups, including a full Reiyoku scan of the fetuses and that showed one with male features and the other with female features. When Rukia told this to Ichigo, he was overwhelmed with joy again. They both decided it was time to break the news to everyone, starting with Isshin and Byakuya. Ichigo went first, walking up to the gates of the thirteenth division barracks four days after Rukia's announcement. He knocked on the gates a few times and waited. For a while no one answered, but then gradually it opened. Ichigo was hoping to see his father's face, but he didn't expect to receive a sharp kick to the nose.

"Long time no see, dickhead!" Hiyori greeted Ichigo. Her kick sent Ichigo flying into a nearby wall. When he got up, he saw his nose was bleeding.

"Why you little bitch!" he snapped at her. "You broke my nose!"

"What's the big deal? I did that to Shinji all the time, and you're like his successor." Hiyori shrugged.

"So? I bet he wasn't okay with it!" Ichigo shouted at her again.

"Who cares? Anyway, what have you come here for?"

"I need to speak to Isshin-san. It's something private."

"Tch, fine then," Hiyori turned around and led him towards the captain's office. Upon reaching the front door, Hiyori knocked on it hard several times.

"Hey goat face, your bloody son wants to see you!" she shouted. A second later Isshin opened the door and stared at Ichigo.

"Oh Ichigo, do you need to speak to me about something?" Isshin asked. Ichigo nodded.

"It's best if only the two of us talked." Isshin motioned Hiyori to do something else, before inviting Ichigo into the office. The two of them sat down on plush leather chairs.

"Alright son, what is it you want to speak to me about that demands such privacy?" Isshin asked. Ichigo hesitated and tried to think of a way to phrase his answer.

"Um, when we came home from Hawaii, Rukia started complaining about pains in her abdomen. I suggested she do a check up, and it turns out that she's pregnant," he explained. Ichigo waited to see what his father's response was. Sure enough, after a brief moment of shocked silence, Isshin went into a mad frenzy.

"Woohoo! I was hoping this moment would come!" he cried in joy. "At last, I'm going to be a grandfather!"

"To twins, I might add. A boy and a girl," Ichigo said in a matter of fact manner.

"Twins!!" Isshin exclaimed in excitement. "A boy and a girl you say? My word this is a dream come true!" He suddenly ran over to the huge wall mounted poster of Masaki he had brought over from the real world and leaned against it.

"Mother, mother, our son has finally grown up! He's going to be a father! And we're going to be grandparents at last!" he sobbed happily. Ichigo was both amused and slightly disappointed by his father's childishness.

"Just to let you know dad, we decided to call them Masaki and Kaien," Ichigo said. At this point Isshin had calmed down from his crazy dance.

"Masaki and Kaien eh? That's a nice way of honoring your mother and Shiba Kaien," Isshin said. Ichigo nodded.

"We couldn't think of any other names that would be worthy for our children."

"I'm glad you didn't. Masaki and Kaien would be proud to have their legacies live on in the next generation of Shibas," Isshin smiled as he looked out of a window. "Now that you and Rukia are starting a family, isn't about time for you to move into the manor? Byakuya and I finished refurbishing it days ago."

"I suppose it is. The manor would be much more comfortable place for Rukia to stay in during her pregnancy," Ichigo agreed with Isshin. "But we'll have to speak to her first. She may want to stay at the fifth division or return to Byakuya's place."

With that, Ichigo and Isshin agreed to meet up at the Shiba Manor in two days' time once Ichigo spoke with Rukia again.

At the very moment Ichigo was speaking to Isshin, Rukia had walked over to the Kuchiki Manor. Although officially now a member of the Shiba clan, she still retained her status as a Kuchiki noble, and so the guards at the front gate allowed her in. Rukia strolled around the corridors of the manor, passing through numerous gardens, until she reached her brother's personal suite. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Renji and Lisa were with Byakuya and Nanao.

"Renji, Lisa-san, what are you doing here?" Rukia asked.

"Oh Lisa just dropped by to have a chat with Nanao," Renji replied. "What about you? "

"Um, I want to speak with Nii-sama about something," Rukia said. "I prefer it if I talked with him in private." Byakuya nodded slightly, and motioned Rukia to follow him into a side room.

"What do you want to tell me Rukia?" he asked. Rukia hesitated in responding. Although Byakuya was now much more open and accommodating towards her, Rukia still felt nervous in saying anything personal in front of him. She opted for a low-key reply.

"Nii-sama, I'm pregnant with children, a boy and a girl," she said. The look on Byakuya's face was one of surprise but also of quiet joy. He had never expected Rukia to consummate her relationship to Kurosaki Ichigo so soon, but he was happy to see their love bear fruit in such of way. He held Rukia's hands.

"I am proud of you, Rukia," he said. "There hasn't been a birth in Seireitei for many long years, so for you to be the first to do is something that pleases me greatly. May your children bring happiness to you and your husband, but remember this Rukia; no matter what happens I will always be there to support you. You may have married into the Shiba family, but for all intents and purposes I still regard you as my sister." Byakuya's words touched Rukia so deeply that she couldn't help but to cry.

"Thank you so much, Nii-sama," she hugged her brother tightly. "Those were the words I really wanted to hear." She gave Byakuya a final bowel before she quietly left the manor. After she left, Byakuya returned to his suite, only to be confronted by Renji, Lisa and Nanao.

"What did Rukia talk to you about?" Renji asked. Byakuya was initially reluctant to tell, but after looking at Nanao, he decided the risk was worth it.

"Very well then, I shall tell you it," he said with a sigh. "Rukia is pregnant with children." As he expected Renji Nanao and Lisa were utterly stunned.

"She's pregnant? But how?" Renji asked. "Oh wait, don't tell me it's because of her night of romance with Ichigo?" Byakuya didn't bother to speak; a slight nod was all that Renji needed to know. He thought to himself that whatever happened to Ichigo and Rukia, it was none of his concern.

"Do you think we should assist her with her pregnancy?" Nanao asked. "It must be hard on her to bear such burdens."

"I think what she might need is advice on how to cope with it," Lisa said. "She's probably a little afraid right now of what is going on with her body.

"You may speak to Rukia about her pregnancy, but try not to spread the word out too quickly," Byakuya said. "I prefer it if this news is kept as a secret between us and the Shiba family until we get everything sorted out." Nanao and Lisa nodded in agreement. However in their minds both of them were thinking about telling the other female Shinigami. As Byakuya and Renji returned to their division barracks, Nanao and Lisa snuck off by themselves.

A few hours later, the Shinigami Women's Association convened inside their usual meeting room. All of the female lieutenants, along with third seats Kiyone Hinamori, sat in plush leather chairs arranged in a circle. The centre of attention was Rukia, who was sitting in a chair that was more lavish than the rest.

"Attention everyone!" Nanao, who was the vice president of the association, stood up to give a speech. "We have held this special meeting to discuss a very important matter; our beloved member Rukia is pregnant with children."

"WHAT?!" almost everyone in the room apart from Lisa, Isane, Nanao and Rukia herself asked in shock.

"Oh my god, if Rukia is pregnant, than she must be having Ichigo's children!" Matsumoto exclaimed in delight. "Maybe I should get Taichio-san to make children with me."

"What are you saying Rangiku-san? Toshiro is mine!" Hinamori objected.

"Would you two discuss that somewhere else?" Nanao asked Matsumoto and Hinamori. "We're concerned about Rukia's pregnancy."

"Um…how do women get pregnant again?" Yachiru, the president of the association asked in a naïve child-like voice. For nearly entire minute, the whole room went silent as everyone, Rukia included, stared at Yachiru with blank faces.

"Shall I explain it to you president-san?" Nemu asked. "It all begins when a man and a women get naked and a man inserts his…"

"Nemu! Don't talk about that sort of stuff in here!" Nanao almost lost control of her temper. "We're here to help Rukia-san, not discuss about her sex life." The women all looked at Rukia, who had been sitting there nervously. She was beginning to have second thoughts about ever bringing her pregnancy up with the association.

"How do we help Rukia then?" Mashiro asked. "None of us here have ever got pregnant."

"Actually, I was pregnant with Shunsui's unborn child," Lisa said.

"What, you and Shunsui had sex?" Hiyori asked in shock. Mashiro was astonished as well. Lisa pushed her glasses in with a smug expression on her face.

"I thought both of you knew about it. I was nearly three months into it when the three of us along with Shinji, Kensei, Rose, Love and Hachi were hollowfied by Aizen. As a result, I ended up miscarrying the baby."

"Oh yeah, I remember doing an impromptu operation on you when Kisuke, Tessai and I brought everyone to the real world," Yoruichi laughed. "It was sheer luck that the fetus didn't turn into a hollow."

"Um, Lisa-san, how did being pregnant feel like?" Rukia asked. She had no idea that Lisa had went through a similar process.

"Well it was hard at first. Like you, I experienced a lot of pain in abdomen when the baby was conceived. But over time I got used to it. The really big changes I noticed was an increased appetite for food and a gradually expanding waistline."

"What about the delivery? You said you had a miscarriage, but isn't that different from the real thing?"

"It is I'm afraid. When the stillborn fetus came out, it was all misshapen and bloody and soon dissipated into spirit particles. However, the process of discharging it was extremely painful, since I was also struggling with my inner hollow at the time." Lisa's words didn't make Rukia feel much better; she was now dreading the day when she would have to give birth.

"Don't worry so much about it, Rukia," Yoruichi comforted her. "All of us will be there beside you. Commander Unohana, Lisa and I have experience with deliveries so when the day does come it you'll be in good hands."

"Besides, now that you're having children, you've done something that not even Miyako-san, whom you admired so much, could achieve," Kiyone said to Rukia. "Even though she really wanted to have kids with Lieutenant Kaien."

"Really, Kaien-dono and Miyako-dono wanted to have kids as well?" Rukia asked. She never imagined that the woman she looked up to so much during her time at the thirteenth division had the same desire as she did.

"Alright everyone, I think we should wrap this meeting up now," Nanao stood up again. "Rukia-san might need some time by herself. We shall hold regular meetings from now on to monitor her progress. In the meantime, all of you must swear to not tell anyone who isn't from the Kuchiki or Shiba families or is not a member of the association."

"I guess this means I can't speak to Taicho-san about it," Matsumoto sighed.

"Why would Toshiro be interested in other women, Rangiku-san?" Hinamori asked.

"Ken-chan wouldn't care about Kuchiki-chan's problem; he only cares about sparring with Ichigo, so he won't care about it," Yachiru said. The other women all shared Yachiru's sentiment, given that the only male Shinigami who would care about Rukia are the people who've been around her the longest. As the meeting ended Rukia was given some final well wishes before everyone left for their respective barracks.

As Rukia arrived at the fifth division quarters, she discovered that Ichigo was missing.

"Why isn't Ichigo back yet?" Rukia said to herself. "The sun's already gone down." She didn't feel like going out to look for him, so instead she waited for him to return. He never came. When she woke up the next morning, Ichigo was still not there. As Rukia started to worry, there came a knock on her door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Karin and Yuzu standing outside, wearing the red and white kimonos of the Shinigami academy.

"Karin, Yuzu, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Ichi-ni wants you to come to the Shiba manor," Yuzu replied. "He said there's a surprise waiting for you."

"Really, a surprise waiting for me?" Rukia wasn't quite sure of what they meant, but she agreed to come along.

"Oh yeah, we heard from Oni-chan about your pregnancy," Karin said. "Apparently goat face went bonkers when he heard about it." Rukia was too embarrassed to speak to back.

Ichigo and Isshin stood outside the front gates of the Shiba Manor, admiring the meticulously designed façade.

"I've got to say, those builders did a heck of a job in repairing this place," Ichigo said.

"It's not surprising they did. After all, they not only had help from the Kuchikis, but Kukaku and Ganju had a hand in the design," Isshin said.

"Kukaku and Ganju helped design it? Does this mean they plan on moving back in?" Ichigo asked. Isshin shook his head.

"When I offered them the chance, they said they had sworn never to return again. I think it's because of all the bad memories they had about this place," Isshin said.

"I can see why they'd have bad memories," Ichigo said. He imagined that Kaien's death and the subsequent banishment of the Shibas from Seireitei due to Isshin's fall from grace must have still weighed heavily in Kukaku and Ganju's minds.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted as she finally arrived at the front entrance, along with Karin and Yuzu. As soon as Ichigo saw hugged his arms around her.

"I'm sorry I kept you in the dark last night," Ichigo said to her in a concerned voice. "Me and dad had to work hard to put the finishing touches to the place."

"So that was what you were up, refurbishing the Shiba Manor," Rukia pondered.

"Why don't we all go inside and take a look? I haven't bothered to hire any servants yet, but in its current state it's ready for us to all move in," Isshin said. He opened the front gates of the manor and showed the others inside.

From the gates there was a long covered walkway that led to a central reception building with branching passageways that led to a series of self-contained rooms.

"This is where the servants will mostly sleep. It's also the place where guests can stay in for short periods," Isshin explained. "It's a far cry from the main residential quarters though." He led the family out the other side of the reception building and into a vast terraced courtyard. Small gardens filled with roses, sakura trees and chrysanthiums lined the four corners of the courtyard whilst in the middle was a large fountain, where a statue shaped like a raccoon spilled water from its mouth. Directly across the other side of the courtyard was the main house, and true to Isshin's words, it was an imposing construction. Three stories high, with ceramic white walls and blue terracotta roofs, it resembled a miniature version of the old medieval Japanese castles.

"What an amazing sight," Rukia stared in awe. "It's even larger than Nii-sama's main house."

"You'll be even more amazed at the inside, Rukia," Ichigo grinned with delight. Isshin unlocked the front double gates and allowed them all to enter. The interior looked nothing like the façade at all. Instead, it resembled a western mansion, or at least a Japanese version of it. After an initial hallway filled with black and white marble pillars they entered into an enormous lounge room area, with several reclining couches gathered around a large coffee table. A narrow passageway joined this area to an equally large kitchen, which had a stove, and oven and a pantry large enough for a dozen people to walk through. To Rukia's surprise, there was also a fridge and a microwave, two appliances she never expected to see in Soul Society.

"How did you get these appliances to work here?" she asked Ichigo and Isshin.

"You mean the fridge and the microwave? Oh those were made by Urahara." Ichigo replied. "He's setting up something big in Karakura Cho, and he was generous enough to give us prototype models of some of the appliances he's planning to produce en masse for the Rukongai folk."

"The whole design of this kitchen is based around the one we had in our old home in the real world," Isshin said. "I just made it a whole lot bigger." Following from the kitchen was a dining room area, with two huge circular dining tables, each one large enough to sit eight people. The dining room area overlooked a large verandah, which overlooked a vast expanse of the manor grounds. On the other side of the verandah was a spiraling staircase.

"What's on the second floor?" Rukia asked.

"All of the bedrooms," Isshin replied. "But there's one more thing to show you on the ground floor." He led them past the stair case and into gigantic living room area. Unlike the lounge room at the front, this place was much more informal, with the various couches arranged around a widescreen television.

"Oh my god, there's a television!" Yuzu squealed in delight.

"And a disc player," Karin added.

"Are these more of Urahara's inventions?" Rukia asked in wonder. Ichigo nodded.

"Urahara said that he had given up on military inventions and is now turning to designing consumer goods instead," Isshin laughed.

"So he wants to make money now huh?" Rukia was skeptical about all of this. Isshin shrugged his shoulders and led them up the staircase. On the second floor were four bedrooms, each one with its own bathroom area. Yuzu and Karin were delighted to have their own bedrooms each. Isshin had his own bedroom, whilst the fourth bedroom was left aside for guests.

"There's one more bedroom in this place, up another set of stairs," Ichigo said. He and Rukia climbed up a smaller staircase to the third floor of the house. Lying directly above the rood was Ichigo and Rukia's bedroom, a room almost as large as the living room downstairs. There was a massive king size bed, flanked by two smaller beds that resembled cribs.

"Look Rukia, these are the beds for our babies," Ichigo said. "And just wait till you see the bathroom." He led a now stunned Rukia to an enormous ensuite area. A spa larger than the one they had shared in the real world rested alongside a separate shower and bath. There was a toilet in an adjacent room, whilst near the doorway there was a walk in robe so large that a dozen people could fit inside with ease.

"My gosh, this whole place is beyond my wildest of dreams," Rukia said. "I thought Nii-sama's quarters were the height of luxury, but this is just incredible."

"I can imagine Byakuya would be envious of us now," Ichigo grinned. Rukia giggled in delight. After everyone had acquainted themselves with their rooms, Isshin led them outside again to show even more amazing features. On one side of the manor grounds was a huge hot spring and pool area, heated by sekki-sekki stones, whilst the other side of the manor grounds had an outdoor dining area with more lush gardens, including a pool which had fish in it. The final feature of the manor was an enclosed shed at the very back, which housed a training room, with so many spare swords, uniforms and other equipment that it resembled a personal armory. When the tour of the manor was finished, everyone gathered at the front again.

"What do you think Rukia? Do you want to stay at the manor or remain in the barracks?" Ichigo asked.

"That's a hard choice to make. Maybe if you promise to sleep with me more often, then I'll prefer to live here," Rukia teased Ichigo. This made Isshin burst out laughing.

"Oni-chan, have you approved our enrolment applications for the academy?" Yuzu asked. "It's starting in two days' time."

"Yes, I've approved the applications and sent them to the head teachers. Just show up on the day and they'll tell you what to do." Yuzu and Karin thanked Ichigo for his help and left with Isshin. Ichigo and Rukia however, stayed for a while to admire what was going to be their future home.

* * *

Notes: There's nothing much to say about this chapter, other than the fact that Kaien and Masaki were the obvious names for Ichigo and Rukia's children.

After this chapter, Shinigami Academy will begin, and the first few chapters of that story will intersect with the New Order at certain points.


	3. Chapter 3: The Five Great Clans

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: After returning from their adventures in the real world, Ichigo and Rukia are ready to start their newly married life and resume their duties as Shinigami. But the couple receive a shocking surprise when Rukia discovers that she's pregnant with twins. Initially wanting to keep it a secret, Ichigo and Rukia eventually decide to break the news to their friends and relatives. Rukia seeks the advice of the Shinigami Women's Association on how to manage her pregnancy, whilst Ichigo works with his father to complete the refurbishment of the Shiba Manor. With the prospect of children and a new home to live in, life looks rosy for Ichigo and Rukia. But soon Ichigo will have to deal with the monumental task of restructuring Soul Society...

* * *

Chapter 3: The Five Great Clans

The early morning sun shone through the roof window of the Shiba family manor house. The light fell directly upon the faces of Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo gradually opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the beautiful face of his wife, still sound asleep. Ichigo gave her a slight nudge on the shoulder. This was enough to force her awake.

"Hey there sweetheart," Ichigo said in his most charming voice. "Did you have a nice sleep?" Rukia smiled gleefully.

"I had a really wonderful dream," Rukia said. "It was about our unborn childhood. Somehow I imagined our son Kaien all grown up. He looked the spitting image of Kaien-dono."

"Really? That's a bit of a surprise," Ichigo said.

"Then again, Kaien-dono pretty much looked like you with black hair, so there's a high chance our son could look like him."

"Maybe this means our daughter Masaki might very well grow up to look my mother," Ichigo thought. Rukia started laughing and once he realized what was funny Ichigo laughed too. An hour later, Ichigo walked out onto the lower floor verandah and gazed out at the gardens in front of him. It had only been three days since he and Rukia had officially moved into the manor, but to Ichigo the place already felt like home. He was now beginning to wonder how he had ever managed to sleep in the small cramped quarters of the fifth division barracks.

"You sure are quick in getting changed," Rukia smiled at Ichigo as she walked down the stairs. She was wearing an elegant purple kimono, the same one she had worn on the day Ichigo returned to the real world after rescuing her.

"I remember that dress…didn't you wear it when you visited Kukaku's place and apologized to her?" Ichigo asked.

"Yep, this is the exact same dress. I don't know why I decided to wear it. I just sort of flicked through the wardrobe and when I laid my eyes on this dress it brought back lots of memories," Rukia sighed.

"It sure does." Ichigo finished eating his breakfast and put on his captain's haori. "Well, I'm heading for the barracks now. Take care of yourself okay?"

"I will." Rukia watched as Ichigo exited the house and quickly Shunpo-ed across Seireitei until he reached the front gates of the fifth division. As he walked down the front corridor Ichigo was quickly greeted by his third seat Minazawa.

"Captain Kurosaki, I bring some news from the Academy," Minazawa nodded.

"How are things going over there?" Ichigo asked.

"Very good, sir. The students have all been sorted into their classes. There are only theoretical classes at the moment though. The real practical classes won't begin until next week."

"That's excellent news Minazawa. Can you also start arranging the dormitories? I want them all sorted out before the weekend," Ichigo ordered. Minazawa nodded and went about his own business. Ichigo strolled into his office and sat down on his chair again. It was then that he noticed a piece of on his desk. He opened it up and was surprised by what was written.

" 'Please come to the Kuchiki Manor house in the afternoon. There is something important we must discuss. Your father and Shihouin Yoruichi will also be there. Kuchiki Byakuya. PS: Rukia can come along too.'," Ichigo read aloud from the paper. He put the paper down and brooded for a moment on what it meant. _Byakuya wants to discuss something with me, father and Yoruichi-san huh? It must be something big_. He made a note of it as he went through the paperwork and shortly after lunch he returned to the manor and showed the note to Rukia.

"Nii-sama wants to talk about something?" Rukia asked. "I wonder what it would be about."

"Something to do with the upcoming constitutional draft, I reckon," Ichigo said. "Whatever it is, we should get ourselves ready."

At half past three in the afternoon, Ichigo and Rukia arrived at the front gates of the Kuchiki Manor house, wearing the haoris of the Shiba clan over their normal Shihakusho. The guards allowed them inside and the two of them quickly walked to the main Kuchiki residence. Upon entering the building they saw that Isshin and Yoruichi had already arrived and were sitting beside Byakuya.

"Thank god you're here Ichigo," Isshin said. "We didn't know how to start without you."

"What's all this about?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll explain it all in a moment. But first, why don't you go ahead into the private tea room Rukia?" Byakuya suggested. "Nanao, Lisa and Soifon are all waiting in there."

"Thank you Nii-sama," Rukia bowed and walked across the room and down a hallway. Once Rukia was gone Yoruichi and Byakuya let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Now we can finally go about our business," Yoruichi said. Byakuya nodded.

"The reason I called Yoruichi-san, your father and you here is to discuss the draft of the constitution." As soon as Byakuya spoke those words Ichigo knew something was up."

"Is there something wrong with the wording? Father, Tessai-san and I must have rewrote every single line multiple times," Ichigo said. Byakuya shook his head.

"The wording is perfect. The main problem we have now is trying to convince the nobles to support it."

"Shouldn't that be an easy task? You, Yoruichi-san, father and I represent three of the great noble clans, whilst there's plenty of other noble families in the Gotei 13 who are our allies." Both Yoruichi and Isshin sighed.

"I wish the situation was that simple, but the politics of Seireitei is far more complex," Isshin explained. The truth is, only about half of the noble families have members who are high ranking Gotei 13 officers. The other noble families used to specialize in the civilian administration, such as the judiciary, and it is those families that formed the Central 46."

"No doubt they'd seize any chance to regain their power like the one we're proposing now, but the idea of sharing power with Rukongai folk is a complete anathema to them," Yoruichi added.

"I get it now. We need the support of those former Central 46 nobles if the constitution is to pass, but to get that support I'm going to have to find a way to convince them right?" Ichigo asked. Byakuya, Yoruichi and Isshin all nodded.

"It will not be an easy task. Among the noble families who disagree with the proposed system, two clans stand out at the biggest obstacles: the Laodemon and Julius clans," Byakuya said.

"Who are they?" Ichigo asked.

"They're the last two Great Noble Families of Seireitei," Yoruichi replied. "The Laodemons are second only to the Kuchikis in rank and status, and prior to Aizen's massacre practically controlled the Central 46. The Julius clan has been their long time ally for quite a while. Both clans have numerous other subordinate families under, including a few in the Gotei 13."

"Even so, the combined power of our three clans should be more than a match for them, shouldn't it?" Ichigo asked. He was hoping to get a positive response, but the other three just sighed.

"The truth is Ichigo, the power and influence that our families had even half a century ago has all but faded," Isshin said. "Have you forgotten that Kukaku and Ganju were banished from Seireitei because of my role in Amaterasu's death? Even with your status as the hero of the Heavenly War, I dare say the Shiba name is detested in a lot of quarters."

"The Shihouin clan has had it tough as well," Yoruichi added. "Even though I have done a lot to make amends with my relatives they still hold a grudge against me for escaping with Urahara a century ago. I'm not certain they would support the ideas that we're proposing."

"The Kuchiki clan may not have suffered much in comparison, but even I might have difficulties winning over the support of the lesser members of my clan," Byakuya said. "After all, I caused a lot of strife when I married Hisana and adopted Rukia."

"It seems I'm going to have a tough challenge to win over the support of the other nobles then," Ichigo sighed. "I doubt even my exploits during the war will help much. After all, I bet everyone in Seireitei knows that I was once a human who became a Shinigami and invaded the Soul Society as a ryoka. Hopefully no one knows about my hollowfication."

"Only those within the higher echelons of the Gotei 13 know about it," Byakuya said. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, I'll find a way to write up a pretty decent speech, but how are we going to get all of the noble families in Seireitei together?"

"Heh, that part's already taken care of," Yoruichi grinned. "I've spoken with the Commander and she said she's going to hold a valedictory dinner for all of the families of Soul Society to celebrate the return to civilian rule. And she's invited you to make a public speech. The dinner will take place in the former royal ballroom, within the former Central 46 chambers, and it will take place in two day's time."

"Great, thanks Yoruichi-san." Ichigo, Isshin, Yoruichi and Byakuya all agreed to make preparations for the occasion.

Two days later in the evening, Ichigo and Rukia walked into the foyer hall of the royal ballroom. Ichigo was wearing the formal robes of the Shiba family head, whilst Rukia looked resplendent in a white lily kimono Byakuya had once given to her as a birthday present. They were taken aback however, by the sheer amount of livery that was on display, as the many hundreds of nobles from across the Seireitei conversed in the one location.

"Gosh, there's so many beautiful ladies wearing such lavish dresses," Rukia said. "The dress I'm wearing looks rather tame by comparison."

"Don't worry about it Rukia. Simple elegance is better than an over the top dress in my own opinion," Ichigo said confidently. Rukia smiled happily. They waded through the crowd, trying to find some familiar faces.

"Onii-san, over here!" two high pitched girl voices shouted from behind. Ichigo turned around and saw Karin and Yuzu, looking every inch like princesses of the Shiba family, waving at him. Standing behind them was Isshin.

"Karin, Yuzu, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

"Today is our day off, and Ojii-san told us about this ball," Yuzu replied.

"Goat-face said there were a lot of handsome guys around, so I figured we might as well go," Karin said. Ichigo and Rukia looked at Isshin, who had a big grin on his face. The five members of the Shiba family walked into through to the ballroom proper, which had been converted into an enormous dining area, with more than a hundred round tables capable seating five people. As Ichigo and Rukia found their table number, they met up with Byakuya, Nanao, Renji and Lisa.

"I thought only nobles were allowed entry here," Ichigo made a sly comment at Renji.

"Ha, your naivety astounds me Ichigo," Renji smirked. "All Gotei 13 officers, especially captains, are considered part of the nobility." Ichigo shrugged his shoulders and laughed. Although they were from two different families, Ichigo's group and Byakuya's group all sat around the same table. As they waited, more familiar people walked past.

"Are you ready to go on stage, Ichigo-kun?" Yoruichi asked in a seductive tone. She was wearing a revealing black dress that barely covered her chest, with an overcoat that partially obscured the stub of her missing left arm. Ichigo gave a nervous nod. Yoruichi winked and went to sit down at a table besides the other Shihouin clan members. As Ichigo observed the other tables, he noticed that Yoruichi's captain, Soifon, was sitting in a table behind her, along with the rest of the Fon clan. He was so lost in observation that he didn't notice a large group of people who walked past the table.

"Well, well, we meet at last, Kurosaki Ichigo," a middle-aged, Caucasian looking man wearing a large fur overcoat over what looked like a white hakama extended an open hand. Not wanting to be rude, Ichigo got up and shook his hand.

"Laodemon Priam," the man introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to greet you in person. I've heard a lot of stories about your exploits but seeing you in the flesh is even more impressive."

"It's a pleasure to greet you too, Laodemon-sama," Ichigo tried his best to sound formal. The man called Priam walked past followed by a dozen other people who all bore similar resemblance to him. Ichigo watched them closely and saw that they were sitting at the table beside the Shihouin clan's.

"Father, Byakuya, was that person the head of the Laodemon clan?" Ichigo asked. Isshin and Byakuya nodded.

"Laodemon Priam, one of the shadiest people I have ever known to work with," Byakuya said. "I don't know much about him, save for the fact he has only been the head of the clan for the last five years. Prior to that, his elder brother Hector held the title."

"What happened to his brother then?" Ichigo asked.

"His brother and countless other relatives who were part of the Central 46 were killed by Aizen." Byakuya's words left Ichigo and Rukia feeling uneasy. They had little time to contemplate though, for as the five hundred or so guests finished sitting down, Commander General Unohana got up on the stage and addressed the audience.

"I thank all of you nobles of Seireitei for responding to my invitation and gathering in this hall on such a short notice," Unohana began. "The Soul Society is the midst of an unprecedented change, one that has never been seen in its history. I have held this dinner to give the opportunity for the most prominent members of the nobility to express their views on the direction that the Seireitei, and Soul Society as a whole, should take, now that military rule is drawing to a close. The first noble who has volunteered to speak is the head of the Shiba clan and captain of the fifth division, Kurosaki Shiba Ichigo." Ichigo gulped as the eyes of all the people in the room were instantly focused on him. With Isshin, his sisters, and most importantly Rukia's support, he nervously got up and walked onto the stage. Unohana whispered some words of encouragement in his ear before allowing him to take the stand.

Though he had spent hours meticulously writing his notes and had rehearsed the speech many times, Ichigo was suddenly gripped by a bout of nerves as he glanced down at the crowd before. Apart from his family, the Kuchikis, the Shihouins and the Fon, everyone else looked like complete strangers. _I managed to address a thousand students at the Academy. Why can't I do the same now?_ Ichigo thought in his mind. Knowing how much was riding on his speech; Ichigo took a deep breath and began.

"Hello everybody, fellow nobles and distinguished guests," he said. "It's an honor to be called by the Commander General to speak to such a large gathering of Soul Society's most powerful individuals. I must say I would be lying to you if I wasn't feeling nervous right now. Nevertheless, I hold with utmost confidence about the vision I have for Soul Society. As most of you all aware, it's been a scant few months since the great enemy Aizen Sousuke was overthrown and peace restored to Soul Society at last after four years of war. I am sure all of us here welcome the end of military rule and the return of the civilian government. In my opinion however, replacing the former Central 46 with a similar body is perhaps not the wisest course of action. Although they may have governed the Soul Society well for the past two centuries, some of the decisions they made were perhaps questionable." At this point, sporadic murmurs began in the crowd, mostly amongst the supporters of the Laodemon and Julius clans. Aware of the discontent he was causing, Ichigo decided to change his tact a little.

"I admit that I don't have much experience of the politics of Seireitei. Indeed, I consider myself an outsider in many ways. Before I became a Shinigami I always imagined Soul Society to be a place like heaven, where people from all walks of life were treated equally, and where everyone could rest in peace. But when I set foot in Soul Society I saw a place that resembled a medieval society, with the peasants of Rukongai living in destitute conditions, whilst the Shinigami and nobles care more about their own wellbeing rather than the wellbeing of others. It was precisely the harsh feudal nature of Seireitei that gave rise to someone like Aizen Sousuke. He was able to exploit the system to its fullest, rising through the ranks of the Gotei 13 without notice, conspiring to kill, exile and imprison his rivals and enemies, and manipulating and masquerading as the Central 46 to accomplish his own malevolent goals.

"The full extent of Aizen's treachery is far too extensive to list here, but needless to say it was because of the rigid nature of Soul Society's laws that he was able to get away with so much. If we are to make sure that someone like him never arises to threaten Soul Society again, the entire foundation on which our laws are based on must change. I know many of you nobles have long since forgotten about the real world or have never experienced it in the first place, but it is worth pointing out that life in the real world is some ways far better than what it is in Soul Society. Over there, even the most destitute person has the opportunity to rise in status and rank, the governments not only listen to the ordinary people, they are run by them. A society which is governed by an elite caste of individuals is something which disappeared in the real world centuries ago. I reckon it is time that Soul Society moves on from the past as well. The events of the past four years have probably shattered the old order for good. We need to build a new order from the ground up, instead of trying to recreate something that has been lost."

When Ichigo finished his speech, more than half the crowd got up and applauded loudly. Ichigo's family and friends, as well as all of the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 who were present in the dining room had been waiting for this speech for a long time and Ichigo had not disappointed them. As Ichigo walked down the stage however, he noticed the other half of the audience were almost livid with outrage. He sat down in his seat again and was instantly hugged and kissed by Rukia.

"That was an awesome speech Ichigo," Rukia complimented him. Ichigo blushed but refrained from speaking, as he watched Unohana get up on the stand again.

"Thank you Captain Kurosaki for that inspiring speech," she said. "Now I would like to introduce the second speaker to the stage. The head of the Laodemon clan, Laodemon Priam." Ichigo noticed the cheers that erupted from the tables at the opposite end as the fair-skinned Priam walked up onto the stage and stood in front of the stand. Unlike Ichigo, he wasn't carrying any notes with him.

"I would first like to say some words about the speech that Kurosaki Shiba Ichigo made," he began. "It was quite interesting and indeed piqued my interest as to where he got those ideas from. But the notion of abolishing the old order of Soul Society and replacing it with an unholy union of Rukongai and Seireitei is utter nonsense. There was nothing with how the Central 46 administered justice and ran the government of Seireitei. For more than two centuries, it achieved peace and stability in not only Soul Society but in the real world as well. The demise of the Central 46 was by far the most devastating event in Soul Society's history and I attribute it all to the corruption and incompetence that existed amongst the Gotei 13. The only reason why a person like Aizen Sousuke was allowed to get away with his heinous crimes was because the standards of discipline amongst the Shinigami were far too lax. The power that each of the captains wielded grew far beyond the Central 46's control, and in the past four years, the Commander General was allowed to run Soul Society as a military dictatorship. Moreover, I have heard unsettling reports that individual members of the thirteen squads had dabbled in the heinous practice of hollowfication. This sort of behaviour should never be tolerated. The Central 46 must be restored and the power of the Gotei 13 restrictive and put under tighter restrictions. Anyone who is found guilty of practicing forbidden arts should be punished with extreme prejudice." With a bang of his fist, Priam finished his short of fiery speech and stomped off the stage to the raucous cheers of his clan and supporters. Ichigo and his friends however, were utterly incensed by what he had said.

"That bastard! How could he tell such blatant lies in front of everyone?" Ichigo asked.

"Calm down Ichigo," Isshin urged his son. "The worst thing to do right is to react with aggression. This will only give credence to Priam's views." Ichigo could only watch as the Commander General welcomed several other speakers to the stage. When all of the speeches were over, the main course meals were finally served. During the serving of the seventh and eight dishes, several members of the Laodemon and Julius clans stood up and headed for the rest rooms. Along the way, they passed Ichigo's table. A few of them sniggered or muttered something under their breath before walking past. Ichigo was tempted to get up and respond but he decided to grin and bear it.

A short time later, Byakuya got up and headed for the rest rooms. Along the way he crossed paths with Priam.

"My, my, how low the Kuchiki clan has fallen," Priam whispered into Byakuya's ear. "Associating yourself with those despicable Shibas. And especially with that Kurosaki Ichigo. I heard he broke into the Seireitei and assaulted several senior officers in a vain attempt to save your sister from execution. I thought you were the staunchest defender of the law, Byakuya. Why do you even bother hanging around with his lot?"

"There are many things you don't understand, Priam," Byakuya retorted. "I only upheld the law because believed in it. But now I have had second thoughts about how the law has treated my family. Kurosaki Ichigo represents a far more hopeful future than the one you are proposing."

"I see, so you were faking it all along, Byakuya. You always intended to break the law when it was most convenient to you, just like when you married that whore from Rukongai." Priam's words triggered some long repressed emotions within Byakuya. In an instant he flexed his reiatsu upon Priam, causing the noble to freeze up in shock and asphyxiate under a suffocating spiritual pressure.

"I could condone you laying false accusations against Kurosaki Ichigo and his family, and for spreading words of hate, but you've crossed the line in insulting my pride, Priam. I could crush the life out of you right now, so be glad that I have shown you mercy. But I warn you, should go against any of my relatives or nakama, I shall not hesitate to slaughter you and your entire family." As Byakuya relaxed his reiatsu, Priam could only stutter and stumble off in utter terror. Byakuya watched Priam carefully, making sure he only returned to his table, before heading off to the rest rooms. After he exited the rest rooms Byakuya was confronted by a familiar face. It was his long time confidant and elder friend, Kuchiki Genma.

"Genma-san, what are you doing here?" Byakuya asked.

"I need to speak to you in private for a moment," the elder Kuchiki replied. Byakuya motioned for Genma to follow him into a small garden just outside the main ballroom. When he was sure they were out of earshot of anyone, Byakuya turned to face Genma.

"What is it that you want to speak to me about?" he asked.

"I overheard your conversation with Priam and I have to admit I'm concerned about his words."

"If it's Priam you're worried about then there's no need for alarm. As long as Kurosaki Ichigo, his father and I are captains of the Gotei 13, Priam's influence is limited."

"That is true, but what if something happens and you are deployed on a mission? Face it Byakuya, were it not for you, our clan's power and influence would pretty much be nonexistent. It was a brilliant strategic move to ally with the revived Shiba clan, but that only covers the fundamental weakness our family has suffered from in the past fifty years: there hasn't been an heir to the Kuchiki throne since you became captain." Byakuya took a deep breath and sighed. He knew Genma was going to bring the issue up eventually, but he wished they had discussed it at a different time.

"Are you suggesting that I remarry again and produce another heir as soon as possible?"

"Well, at least within the next few years. I hate to admit it, but some of the other members of the clan are worried about the direction you're taking Byakuya. They don't think it was a good idea to marry Rukia off to the Shibas."

"As far as I'm concerned, what Rukia is free to choose her own path."

"Yes, I know about that. I've been by your side ever since Ginrei-san died and you became the head of the family. I supported your decision to marry Hisana and adopt Rukia. But now I'm deeply worried about the future of our clan. It's been fifty years since Hisana's death. Haven't you thought about remarrying during this time?" Byakuya closed his eyes and contemplated.

"I have thought deeply about marrying again, now that that I've put the vow I made to Hisana aside."

"Do you have a person in mind?" Genma asked. Byakuya nodded.

"Since she became my Lieutenant, I've developed intimate feelings for Ise Nanao. We've known each other for more than a century, ever since we were students of the academy."

"Ah, Ise Nanao, that's certainly a fine choice. Wasn't she officially adopted into the Kyoraku family? Marrying her can help solidify our ties with them."

"We can discuss more about the marriage some other time. For now, please do not speak of this to anyone." Genma nodded and the two of them quietly returned to their tables. When Byakuya sat down on his seat again, Ichigo, Rukia, Isshin and Nanao all gave him some puzzled looks.

"What was the matter Nii-sama? I saw you speaking with Majordomo Genma-sama," Rukia said.

"It's nothing you should be worried about," Byakuya replied. He stared at Nanao, who was looking at him with a confused face.

"You missed out on a few dishes Byakuya, but we managed to leave some for you," Ichigo grinned.

* * *

I apologise for the update taking so long. This chapter was extremely difficult to write, given the complex subject material it deals with. I figured the time was right to explore the other aspects of Soul Society that Kubo never bothered to mention, one of them being the existence of remaining two families. Though the Kuchikis, Shihouins and Shibas have had a lot of background, these last two families have remained a complete mystery. This chapter only serves to introduce the final two families.

The Laodemons: I based this family around the ancient Greek and Trojan kings. Given that the Kuchikis, Shihouins and Shibas all come from ancient Japanese, Indian and Chinese ruling dynasties respectively, and since there was a distinct lack of European people in Soul Society, I thought it made sense for one of the noble families to be of Greek origins. The Laodemon family name and the head of the family, Priam, are based on the Trojan king of the same name, and his respective family tree.

The Julius clan: Not much is known about them yet, but they're strongly based on the Roman emperors, with a special reference to Julius Caesar and his family.

Kuchiki Genma: He is the head of the lesser branch of the Kuchiki family, and basically manages the clan affairs for Byakuya. I based him on one of the unknown guys who stand alongside Byakuya when he adopts Rukia.


	4. Chapter 4: Uryu and Chad

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: After returning from their trip to the real world, Ichigo and Rukia are confronted by numerous challenges. As Soul Society returns to civilian rule, Ichigo struggles to implement his vision of a democratic government, whilst overseeing the running of the Shinigami Academy. Meanwhile, Rukia has come to terms with the fact she is pregnant with twins. After the two of them settle into the newly renovated Shiba Manor, Ichigo, his father, Byakuya and Yoruichi gather together to discuss the issue of persuading the nobles of Seireitei to support their draft consitution. Ichigo volunteers to make a speech in front of a dinner function held by Commander Unohana herself. Although his speech wins the support of many Shinigami nobles in attendance, Ichigo's work his soon sabotaged by Laodemon Priam, the head of the Laodemon clan, one of the five great noble families of Seireitei. Priam's speech causes a rift to develop between the noble families, a rift that is further widened when Byakuya threatens to kill him should any harm fall upon the Kuchikis or the Shibas. As tensions within Soul Society build up, the lives of Ishida Uryu and Sado Yasutora are also about to change...

* * *

Chapter 4: Uryu and Chad

Ishida Uryu stood in the arrivals terminal of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport. After grabbing his luggage, he walked outside and waited for a taxi to pick him. It was nine in the morning, and the sky was crystal blue clear. A few minutes later, a taxi arrived beside the pavement and Ishida got inside.

"Where would you like to go?" the taxi driver asked in German.

"Winstrasse, 501," Ishida replied. The taxi driver, who was of Turkish background, nodded and drove away from the airport. As Ishida sat in the taxi, he contemplated the reason why he had come back to Berlin only three weeks after he, Ichigo and Rukia had stayed there…

"_Thank you for coming!" Ishida said to a middle aged woman who had received treatment for a fractured arm. He watched her exit the clinic before he returned to the surgery room._

"_I think it's about time we head home father," he said. Ishida Ryuken, Uryu's father, looked up from the desk as soon as he son walked in,._

"_In a minute Uryu, I have to finish off these reports," Ryuken said._

"_Do you need my help?" Ishida asked. His father nodded and handed him some medical files that needed to be filled in. Since the end of the Heavenly War, Ishida had started working closely with his father at the clinic, for Ryuken's goal was for his son to eventually take over the business. With a degree in medicine under his belt, Ishida was more than qualified to handle a lot of the minor patients, and since his return from Europe he had helped his father with a number of difficult operations. _

_Just as Ryuken finished writing the last of his reports, his mobile phone rang_

"_Hello, this is Ishida Ryuken speaking," he answered. "Oh, you're the daughter of Maria Rosenfeld. Do you have something to tell me?" A few seconds later Ishida saw his father's face turn nearly bone white._

"_What? It can't be? When did it happen and who was responsible?" Ryuken asked in a frantic voice. "Oh I see. Alright then, I'll find a way to head back as quickly as possible." He slapped his mobile shut and slammed it onto his desk._

"_What's the matter father?" Ishida asked. Ryuken looked at his son with a grim face._

"_Maria Rosenfeld is dead," he replied. The statement hit Ishida like a bullet to his heart._

"_No way! How did she die? She was perfectly healthy when I last saw her!" Ishida exclaimed._

"_She was murdered in cold blood. The killers are unidentified at this stage. Her daughter rang me to request out assistance in the investigation. It looks like I'll have to head back to Berlin."_

"_No, let me head back, father. If she was murdered by somehow, it most likely has something to do with what I discovered with her when Kurosaki, Rukia-san, and I visited her house. I feel some responsibility for causing her death." His father couldn't help but laugh._

"_This is so typical of you, Uryu, always going on these noble quests. Very well, I give you permission to return to Berlin. But try not to stay there too long." Ishida nodded…_

It had been two days since Ishida learned of Maria Rosenfeld's death. Now that he was back in Berlin, he was determined to find out who was responsible. The taxi arrived at 501 Winstrasse, and after paying the taxi driver the charge, Ishida stepped out with his suitcase and glanced at the plain brick apartment in front of him. He immediately noticed that some things were different. The area around the front steps and along the pavement had been blackened with soot, and the window on the side was different to the one he had seen when he last visited. With a deep breath, Ishida walked up the steps and knocked the front door. A minute later the door opened, and Ishida was greeted by a rather attractive looking young woman with brown hair who was almost as tall as him.

"Guten tag uh… may I speak with Clara Rosenfeld?" Ishida asked. Without warning the woman suddenly whipped out a Quincy cross and summoned a crossbow in her right hand. Ishida barely managed to dodge an arrow that was aimed at his heart. He leaped into the air and summoned a Hirenkyaku hoverboard under his feet.

"What the hell? Why are you attacking me? You could have killed me with that arrow!" Ishida exclaimed angrily. The woman responded by firing several more arrows at him. Ishida ducked the first few, but the arrows got more and more accurate and soon he had no choice but to pull out a Seele Schneider around his waist and block the arrows that strayed near his body.

"Why are you trying to kill me? I just wanted to speak with Clara Rosenfeld?" Ishida tried asking. This somehow incensed the woman even more.

"What business do you have with my father you murderous bastard!" she shouted in a rage. She charged spirit particles into her crossbow and fired out a single giant bolt that split into hundreds of smaller bolts that almost surrounded Ishida. _Crap, I can't dodge or deflect them all_, he thought. As the bolts closed in, he pulled out a ginto tube. Throwing it slightly above his head, he hastily shouted, "Zeller trick fawn keats halt fuerto, GRITZ!" A large metallic cloth with the Quincy cross on it materialized around Ishida and completely enclosed him. The bolts impacted and almost penetrated the cloth, but it managed to withstand all of them. Ishida unsommoned the cloth just as he saw the woman charge up another bolt.

"Please, don't shoot! Can't you let me explain some things?" Ishida protested.

"What is there to explain? You killed my grandma and now you're coming back to kill my mother and me!" she yelled. The words 'grandma' and 'mother' caused Ishida to freeze in shock. He was so stunned at this revelation that he left himself wide open for the woman to shoot at her.

"Stand down this instant Teresa!" an elder woman's voice shouted just as Ishida was about to be hit. The young woman, who Ishida presumed to be Teresa, froze up and suddenly dropped her crossbow. A moment later, a middle-aged woman who Ishida recognised to be Clara Rosenfeld, appeared in the doorway.

"Teresa, how dare you use your powers and attack an innocent man like that!" Clara scolded her daughter.

"But mother, that is the man who caused grandma to die!" Teresa protested. She pointed to Ishida. Clara looked at her daughter in utter confusion.

"That's...Ishida Uryu! The son of Ishida Ryuken!" she exclaimed. "He and his family are old friends of ours." She looked up at Ishida, who was still puzzled over the whole situation.

"I apologize for my daughter's outburst," Clara said. "She can be so stubborn at times."

"I see," Ishida glanced at Teresa, who was staring at him with a suspicious face. She was two years younger than him, and was in the first year of a medicine degree.

"Who is this person, mother?" Teresa asked. "You said you and grandma had met him before."

"We certainly did. He visited our house only three weeks ago, when you were still at university," Clara replied. "Weren't you accompanied by two other people, an orange-haired man and his black haired wife? The two of them were Shinigami." Ishida nodded.

"I don't believe this! You and grandma not only talked with this person, but with a pair of Shinigami? Shinigami are our enemies!" Teresa shouted. Clara shook her head and sighed.

"It's a long story, but the Shinigami are no longer our enemies. Grandma and I learned the truth from this Quincy and his Shinigami friends." Clara motioned to Ishida to tell everything about his past and his history with Ichigo and Rukia. When he was finished, Teresa could only gawk in astonishment.

"This is so incredible...I find it hard to believe it..." she stuttered. "That the being responsible for the extermination of the Quincies was a rogue Shinigami who betrayed Seireitei, and the heir of the Eshid clan teams up with the good Shinigami to take him down."

"It reads like a tale from the Quincy wars doesn't it?" Ishida smiled. "Looking back on it now, I sometimes find it hard to comprehend all of the amazing events I've gone through. But enough of the history lesson for now. I want to know what happened to your grandmother. How was she killed?" At this point Teresa broke down and burst into tears, causing Ishida to be concerned.

"It's okay, I know it's hard on you to recall the event, but we're here to support you," her mother tried to comfort her. After Teresa settled down she started telling her story.

"It, it happened a week ago, when I had just come home from the college," she spoke hesitantly. "Grandma was cooking some soup for me in the kitchen when there was a knock on the front door. I was in my bedroom at the time, so I only heard her walk to the front door. I then heard strange voices and then a scream from grandma. I ran out as fast as I could but before I could reach the front door there was a large explosion. It was so powerful that I was knocked down. When I got up again, all I saw was a scorching fireball outside the front door. It soon died down and in the aftermath I found grandma's body burnt beyond recognition. I saw a car drive off into the distance but I couldn't chase after it. Neither could I save grandma...she was already dead." The emotional stress was too much for Teresa and she burst into tears again. As he listened to her account, Ishida recalled what happened to his grandfather. _That's right; I saw Ojii-san die with my own eyes too...and there was nothing I could do about it._ As Teresa continued crying, he grasped both of her hands with his hands.

"I can understand what you're going through, Teresa," Ishida said. "My own grandfather died in a similar fashion, overwhelmed and eaten by five powerful hollows. He was killed trying to protect me, and all I could do was to hide in the bushes and watch on. I suffered emotional distress for years after that event and I blamed it all on the Shinigami. You're in the same situation I was at the moment. I'll do whatever it takes to help him track down those responsible and bring them to justice. I swear it on my Quincy pride."

Teresa was so touched by Ishida's devotion that she started crying tears of happiness for him.

"Thank you, thank you so much, eh..." she had forgotten his name.

"It's Uryu, Ishida Uryu," Ishida nodded. Teresa smiled happily.

"Do you know where to start looking?" Clara asked Ishida.

"I have a vague idea," Ishida replied. "The most likely reason Maria Rosenfeld was killed might be because she helped me uncover the truth behind the holocaust. Ichigo and Rukia relayed that information off to Soul Society and I heard from Ichigo recently that the Soul Society is planning to set up a world-wide network of Shinigami agents to locate any individuals or groups who still have affiliations to Aizen. I have a suspicion that Maria Rosenfeld's murder was a ploy designed to lure me into a trap so that whoever's masterminding the remaining Aizen cultists can get his revenge upon me."

"That sounds like a definite possibility. But gathering information about them will be difficult."

"Which is why I think I should start with the local police. Have they contacted you about your mother's death?" Clara nodded in response to Ishida's question.

"Both Teresa and I have given evidence but so far they haven't had any leads in their investigation," she said.

"I guess this would be a good time to approach them then," Ishida got up from the chair. "I'll speak with the police who contacted you and tell them what I know about the terrorist group." He said goodbye to Clara and Teresa and headed out the door. Before he got to the bottom of the stairs however, Teresa came running out.

"Wait, let me accompany you!" Teresa shouted. Ishida turned around in shock. "I'm one of the key witnesses to my grandma's death, so if you're going to help the police, then I will as well!'

"I'm not so sure about you going with me Teresa. It is likely the trail I'm following will lead me into a confrontation with these terrorists. It might be too dangerous for you," Ishida said with concern.

"Ha, there's no need to worry about my safety!" Teresa gloated. "Grandma taught me all of the Quincy arts. People with guns and knives don't scare me anymore." She held out her Quincy cross and showed it to Ishida, who marvelled at it. _She's exactly the same as I was_, Ishida thought with a smile.

"Well then, I'm more than happy to accept your help," he grinned. "It seems like you're a skilled Quincy yourself. But if we encounter hollows along the way, don't go crying back to your mother because you're too scared."

"As if I'd ever do that," Teresa shot back. As she watched the two of them banter with each other as they walked along the street, Clara Rosenfeld let out a sigh.

"Those two have so much in common," she said to herself.

* * *

At roughly the same time halfway across the world, Sado 'Chad' Yasutora landed at Palenque, Mexico. He flown all the way from Okinawa and landed in Mexico City, before boarding a transferring flight that took him to this small town in the rural areas of the Chiapas province of Mexico. Chad felt an element of nostalgia as soon as he walked into the small runway that served as the town's airport. Palenque had been the town he grew up in. He may have been born in Okinawa, but shortly after his birth his mother took him back to Mexico. Palenque was her birth place, so it was only natural that she returned there after Chad's father abandoned them. When she died a few months later, Chad was left in the care of his Abuelo, Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa.

Chad walked over to the nearby highway and tried to hitch-hike a car. Although quite a lot of cars came down the highway, almost none of them bothered to respond to Chad's call. Eventually he spied a large dump truck that stopped almost beside him. As the drivers of the truck got out and had a smoke, Chad stealthily climbed into the container at the back and waited patiently. A few minutes later the drivers got back in again and the truck headed south down the highway. It soon reached an intersection where the highway split in two directions. One headed west into the town centre whilst the other continued south. Chad sensed that the truck was going to continue heading south and so he decided to leap out of the container. He barely landed on the pavement and ended up stumbling into a tree.

Chad regained his senses and looked around. In the middle of the intersection was a stone sculpture that was instantly familiar to him; he had played around the strange head of a woman many times. He then turned to look at the road leading towards the centre of Palenque.

"This brings back so many memories," Chad said to himself. He began walking along the road, glancing at the houses on both sides. Nothing much had changed in the eight or so years since he left this place. The streets were still dirty, the buildings still run down, and there were countless destitute people struggling to survive. Chad was aware that the locals were regarding him with suspicious eyes as he walked past. He wasn't surprised. To the people of Palenque, he was an alien, a strange hybrid between two very different cultures. He made his way to the square in the centre of the town. Since it was Saturday, the place was bustling with all sorts of people as the local traders put out their wares.

Chad sifted through all of the stores and then walked along the nearby street. He quickly spotted a flower shop that seemed familiar to him. When he stepped into the shop, he found a slightly plump, middle aged woman whose face greatly resembled his mother's. Chad calmly waited for her to notice. When the woman, who had been planting flowers, looked back, she was so shocked she dropped the flower pot she had been holding.

"Oh my god, is that you, Yasutora?" she asked.

"It's good to see you again, Aunt Olivia," Chad smiled. His aunt, still struggling to comprehend his reappearance, couldn't contain herself and rushed over and gave him the biggest hug she could manage.

"My, how big you've grown Yasutora. How long has it been since you left? Seven, eight, years ago? You were still shorter than me back then. But now you're a giant," Aunt Olivia was so happy that she started crying.

"Why are you crying, Aunt Olivia? Does seeing me again make you cry?" Chad asked

"Of course it does. I'm crying tears of joy," Aunt Olivia chuckled. She led Chad to the rear of the flower shop and into a small kitchen and dining area.

"This is where I live now. I guess this isn't what you were expecting," she said.

"What happened to Uncle Hernan?" Chad asked. Aunt Olivia bowed her head and sighed.

"He died in a car crash a few years ago. As for my children, they all left for Mexico City. After all, there aren't many work opportunities in a town as small as this one." Chad sat on a chair as his aunt made some tea and biscuits. As the two of them sat down around the table, Aunt Olivia started asking Chad some questions.

"So, what brings you here to Palenque again, Yasutora?" she asked. "I wouldn't think you'd solely come here to visit little old me."

"Well, I did wish to see you again, but you're right in saying I have another reason," Chad said. "I came here to find the truth about what happened to my father." As soon as he mentioned his father, his aunt sighed heavily and adopted a resigned expression on her face.

"I always figured that you'd inquire about your father some day. I take it you've met him in person." Chad nodded grimly.

"He suddenly showed up again when I was visiting my relatives in Okinawa. He ended up severely injuring my cousin and uncles and in the end I was forced to kill him."

"You killed your own father?"

"Well, to be more precise, he had been dead for some time. I had heard countless stories about him from mother, but when I met him in person he was a far cry from the father that mum described him to be," Chad explained. "After my uncle in Okinawa told me everything he knew about my father, I felt I had to come here to discover what happened to him that caused his change in personality." He deliberately avoided mentioning the fact that Kazuya had been devoured by a hollow named Felipe Cortes. But what he had said was enough to stir Aunt Olivia up.

"To be honest, Yasutora, even I wasn't sure what made Kazuya change so drastically," she confessed. "When I first met him he was a bright and cheerful lad who was enormously fascinated with everything about Mexico. He and Gloria had met during their studies in the capital and when Gloria brought him over to see us I thought the two of them were made for each other. But then he almost disappeared whilst visiting the ruins of Ancient Palenque. Gloria and I thought he had died, so when he came back alive we were overjoyed. However I sensed something was strange with his personality. Shortly afterwards, he took Gloria and returned to Okinawa. That was the last I ever heard of him, for Gloria returned a few years later carrying you in her arms." When Olivia finished her story, something clicked in Chad's mind. He pieced together what he had discovered whilst fighting Cortes with what his aunt had described to him, and came to a revelation.

"Aunt Olivia, can you show me where the ruins of ancient Palenque are?" he asked. "I want to go there myself to confirm something."

"It's too dangerous for you to go there. Just recently a group of tourists who were visiting the pyramids around the site went missing. Now the whole place is under police surveillance."

"Don't worry about me, Aunt Olivia," Chad stood up and smiled. "I can take care of myself."

Several hours later, Chad arrived at the entrance to the Palenque archeological site. A close friend of his aunt had offered to drive him to the entrance. As he got out of the car, he saw that the entrance had been completely barred off by a police cordon. Numerous police officers were guarding the cordon, making entry in almost impossible.

"This is as far as I can take you, Mr. Sado," the driver said to him. "You have your Aunt's phone number with you right? When you are ready to go back, give her a call and I'm come and pick you up. Good luck and take care." Chad waved goodbye to the driver as he turned the car around and headed off.

"Alright then, how am I going to get inside?" Chad asked himself. He looked around and noticed there was a small clearing in the trees on the left that was large enough to traverse across. Chad then remembered the map of the Palenque region that his aunt had shown him. _If I'm not mistaken, the ruins should are due south of here_, he thought. He snuck into the trees and began trawling his way through the dense forest. After a few minutes the forest opened up and Chad stumbled across several ancient stone buildings. He searched the vicinity and found a waterfall to his left.

"That must be the cascades of Palenque," Chad said to himself. "I'm in the right place then." As he started walking through the enormous complex he started experiencing a chilling sensation. It wasn't the weather, for the temperature was still nice and warm. Rather, it was the feeling of a strange reiatsu that emanated from somewhere. Another disturbing thing about the place was the eerie quietness of it all. Although Chad knew there wouldn't be any living people about because of the police, the absence of any hollows or spirits indicated that this place had been abandoned for a very long time.

Upon nearing the structure known as the Temple of Inscriptions, Chad suddenly began hearing voices. They weren't human voices, but rather what seemed like the cries of animals. They appeared to be coming from inside the pyramidal structure. After making sure there were no other people about, Chad climbed to the top of the temple. He went inside and soon discovered an astounding set of inscriptions written along an entire chamber wall. He saw numerous pictures of humans, animals and structures as well as copious amounts of text written in an archaic language. Chad couldn't understand what was written. He walked around a bit more to see if there was anything else to the temple. Just as he thought he had explored everything he accidentally stepped upon a hidden trap panel. The floor he was standing on suddenly gave way and with a loud scream Chad fell down a long and winding duct. The duct seemed to go on forever but eventually Chad arrived at the bottom and fell onto his back with a thud.

"What a fall that was," Chad said to himself as he struggled onto his feet. He then looked around and noticed he was in the middle of a truly enormous chamber that stretched on into the darkness. Numerous inscriptions, carvings and ominous statues dotted the chamber. But the one item that instantly caught Chad's eye was a gigantic hole in the centre of the chamber. As he neared the hole, the ominous reiatsu Chad had sensed earlier became much worse. When he got near the very edge of the hole, he realized the reiatsu was coming from the hole itself. _What is this is awful spiritual pressure? I haven't felt anything this bad since Ichigo, Uryu and I stormed Las Noches._ He stared down into the hole and saw nothing but blackness. He wondered if this hole even had a bottom.

Just then, he sensed countless small spiritual pressures heading towards him. He looked around and realized he had been surrounded. Almost encircling the hole were numerous small creatures. They were red in colour, had horns and pitchfork tails, and their eyes were molten yellow

"What the hell are these?" Chad asked himself. As a precaution, he activated armored right arm. It proved to be a prudent move, for one of the creatures jumped up and tried to tear his arm off. Its jaw clamped into the armour, but Chad's arm was thick enough that it did not hurt. He activated his armored left arm and tore the creature from his body. It fell onto the ground in a bloodied heap. As he examined the corpse he noticed that it did not have any noticeable holes like a hollows, nor was its face a mask of sorts. _So they're not hollows. What are they then?_ He didn't have time to ponder his own questions, for the other creatures, apparently incensed by the death of one of their own, flew into a frenzy. They started attacking Chad en masse leaping and scratching at him. Chad tore several of them apart with his bare hands, whilst he blasted a few more with El Directo. But the creatures kept on coming.

"How many of them are there? There's an endless amount!" Chad swore in frustration. As he continued to fend them off, he noticed the creatures were aiming for his heart and neck, the two most vulnerable parts of his body. One creature managed to scratch his chest, causing Chad to grunt him pain. Not wanting to risk further injury, he decided to activate his ultimate power, Armadura del Dioces. With his head and upper torso covered in thick bony armour, he was impervious to the creature's attacks. On and on he struggled, and although the number of creatures seemed endless, Chad noticed they were gradually decreasing in number. After what seemed like hours, he finally managed to kill them all. Having almost drained his spirit energy, he returned to his normal self and collapsed on the ground.

As he lay there, Chad suddenly saw something appear in front of him. He initially thought it was another one of those creatures, but then he realized it was a woman. It wasn't just any woman either. The woman who was standing in front of him bore an unmistakable resemblance to his dead mother.

"Is that you, mother?" Chad asked. "Or am I dreaming." The woman bent down and smiled.

"It's me Yasutora," she replied. "You've grown up to be a very fine young man."

"What are you doing here?" Chad got onto his feet and stared at his mother. He noticed her broken soul chain and saw that it had almost been eaten away.

"I came here to visit the grave of your father Kazuya. This was the place that he died," Chad's mother Gloria replied. "I didn't know that he had been eaten by a hollow until after I passed away myself. But now that I know the truth, I can finally rest in peace. Can you do me a favor Yasutora?"

"What do you want me to do mother?"

"Kill me." His mother's words hit like lightning through Chad's heart. "My soul chain's almost gone. Soon I shall become a hollow and lose my sense of identity. I know all about your powers from a Shinigami who helped me find this place."

"But, my powers come from my inner hollow. If I kill you, you won't go to Soul Society, you'll just cease to exist," Chad protested.

"It doesn't matter. It's better if I died with my sense of self intact than turn into a monster like your father did. I'm sorry I put you under such hardship Yasutora. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can mother. Although you died when I was very young, I still remember them fondly," Chad struggled to hold back his tears as he placed his right hand against his mother's chest. His mother gave him one last smile before Chad fired an El Director blast that completely disintegrated her body. When it was done, he looked down at his own hands.

"May you rest in peace mother," he said with a heavy sigh. As he tried to find a way out of this chamber, he had made up his mind to seek out the truth behind his parents' deaths.

* * *

Notes: This chapter is the only time when both Ishida and Chad will appear in the New Order. Although it doesn't fit with the rest of the story, it was important for me to show what Ishida and Chad have been doing, since what happens in this chapter will have a direct bearing not only on future events in this story and Shinigami Academy, but also a future story I have planned. People who haven't read A Bleached Honeymoon may not know some of the characters that are mentioned in this chapter so I will briefly explain them.

Maria Rosenfeld: The former matriarch of the Rosenfeld family, one of the last surviving Quincy clans. She assisted Ishida, Ichigo and Rukia with their investigations in A Bleached Honeymoon.

Clara Rosenfeld: Maria Rosenfeld's daughter and the mother of Teresa Rosenfeld.

Palenque: This used to be an ancient Mayan City that was abandoned centuries ago. It's modern day namesake town lies east of the ruins of the original Palenque.

Sado Kazuya and Gloria de la Rosa: Chad's parents. His father Kazuya had his body eaten by a hollow before he was born, hence the reason why Chad has inate hollow powers.

Felipe Cortes: The hollow who devoured Kazuya and technically 'fathered' Chad. He was killed by Chad in A Bleached Honeymoon.


	5. Chapter 5: New Karakura City

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: As Soul Society gradually returns to civilian rule after the defeat of Aizen, Ichigo finds himself juggling multiple responsibilities. In addition to running the Shinigami Academy and caring for Rukia during her pregnancy, he is now locked in a difficult political struggle against the Laodemon and Julius clans as the elections for the new government of Seireitei draw near. Meanwhile, in the real world, Ichigo's long time nakama, Uryu and Chad, embark on their new journeys. Uryu returns to Berlin after learning of the death of Maria Rosenfeld and begins an investigation into murder accompanied by Teresa Rosenfeld, Maria's granddaughter. Chad flies to the rural town of Palenque in Mexico to meet his aunt, and starts his own search for the causes behind his father's death. The search takes him into the heart of the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque where he uncovers something far more dangerous: a mysterious hole to the underworld...

* * *

Chapter 5: New Karakura City

Ichigo yawned. After spending hours working at his desk, he was feeling dead tired. It had been two months since he made his speech to at the royal ballroom and in those two months he didn't really have a single day to rest. If he wasn't busy consulting with as many nobles as possible to win their support for the upcoming elections, he had his hands full with the academy and its teachers. At a few times he wished that the Soul Society was still at war, so he could actually go out and do what he enjoyed best, fighting against tough opponents and saving the day. But most of all, he wished to be with Rukia more. Although it had been Ichigo's decision to let his wife stay at home during her pregnancy, he was beginning to miss her constant company.

"Urgh, I need a break," he moaned. He got up from his desk and walked out of his office. He strolled along the corridor that led to the fifth division's main courtyard and along the way he passed by many of his subordinates.

"Good afternoon, Captain Kurosaki, had a busy day?" one of Ichigo's tenth seats asked.

"Yeah, I'm just taking a short breather to relieve myself," Ichigo replied. He continued walking along the corridor and reached the main courtyard, where a few dozen of his men were either relaxing, playing Shougi, or sparring with each other. As soon as they saw Ichigo's face, they stopped what they were doing, stood up and saluted him.

"Good afternoon Captain Kurosaki!" they all shouted. "Do you have anything you would like us to do?" Ichigo was impressed at the discipline of his men.

"No, no, you're all free to go back to what you were doing before," he smiled. "I just came here to some relaxation myself." He sat down on a bench and admired the numerous flowers that dotted the courtyard. He didn't have much time to relax, since a few minutes later, his third seat, Taneko Minazawa and his fifth seat, Koizumi Tanaka, both ran towards him.

'There you are captain! I was wandering where you went," Minazawa said.

"Minazawa, Tanaka, do you have information you wish to speak to me about?" Ichigo asked. They both nodded. Minazawa urged Tanaka to go first.

"Uh yes, captain, I'm just here to report the latest news from the academy," he replied. "The first term examinations have all been held, and the markings are almost done."

"That's good to hear. Were there any noticeable results?"

"Well, there's a number of student's from Kasumi's class who are quite interesting. As expected, your sisters both performed brilliantly, as did your former real world friends Inoue Orihime and Arisawa Tatsuki. There's also this boy called Shibata Yuichi who demonstrated a reiatsu as large as you had."

"He did? Wow, that's amazing. Maybe I should meet him in person, along with the other four," Ichigo said. Tanaka bowed his head and walked off. Ichigo then turned to Minazawa.

"Let me guess Minazawa, you don't have news about the Academy," Ichigo grinned. Minazawa found his captain's words so funny that he couldn't stop laughing.

"Ha, ha, ha, you're absolutely right. Tanaka already told you everything about the Academy," Minazawa smiled. "I'm here to inform you that the construction of New Karakura City is now complete. The city's so-called mayor Urahara Kisuke has invited you to attend the grand opening."

"Urahara's finished his pet project at last?" Ichigo asked. "I'd better check it out then. Tell Urahara I'll meet him early tomorrow." Minazawa nodded and walked off. As Ichigo returned to his office, he couldn't wait to see what his old home town had become. He quickly finished the last of his paperwork and went home early. Upon arriving at the front door of the Shiba Manor, he was greeted with a hug and a kiss by Rukia.

"I didn't think you'd be back this early," she said. "I haven't even gotten the dinner ready."

"That's okay. I'll help you with the preparation," Ichigo said. As he accompanied Rukia inside the house, Ichigo observed the now sizeable bump around the Rukia's abdomen. Rukia was now three months pregnant, and she was starting to feel her babies kick around inside her body. Tasks such as bending down and lifting things were becoming hard for her, so Ichigo offered to do them instead.

"Anything interesting happen at work?" Rukia asked Ichigo as she cooked some fish and noodles.

"Not really, but Minazawa told me a great piece of news," Ichigo replied. "Sandal hat's finished doing his renovation work on Karakura Cho. I'm planning to meet him tomorrow. Do you want to come along?"

"Of course! I want to see what he's done with the town. I bet he's turned it into some grotesque monstrosity," Rukia said with delight.

"Getting there's going to be a problem. I can Shunpo there in a few steps, but I doubt you could keep up with me, especially with the twins inside of you."

"You could always carry me on your back, just like the early days when you were a Substitute Shinigami," Rukia giggled. Ichigo started blushing in embarrassment. Although he had no problems with Rukia riding on his back, he was worried about how awkward they'd look.

* * *

The next morning, both Ichigo and Rukia woke up early and dressed up in their formal robes. After a quick breakfast, they left the manor and quietly walked through the streets of Seireitei until they reached the Western Phoenix Gate. The Onimitsukidou guards who were standing beside the gate allowed the two of them to pass. They walked across the Sekki-sekki moat that now surrounded all of Seireitei and greeted the giant gatekeeper Jidanbo who was sleeping on the other side of the bridge.

"Ooh, Ichigo-san, Rukia-san, it's good to see the two of you again," Jidanbo woke up and sat down. "Are you planning on going somewhere?" Ichigo nodded.

"We're going to see Urahara in Karakura Cho," he said.

"It's about time that you did. I've spoken with Urahara a lot recently and he told me he was starting to become annoyed that you hadn't come to speak with him."

"Is that so? Well, I'll be sure to give him a thorough greeting." Ichigo and Rukia said goodbye to Jidanbo and walked some distance away from the walls until they spotted some bushes. They ducked into the bushes for a moment, and then Ichigo allowed Rukia to hop onto his shoulder.

"Are you comfortable with this set up?" Ichigo asked Rukia. Rukia nodded. Ichigo left the bushes and started Shunpo-ing towards Karakura Cho. Within an hour, Ichigo had covered hundreds of kilometers and had reached the districts where the former real world city was located. As he and Rukia crested over a hill, they stopped dead in their tracks. In the distance and standing out like a sore thumb in the middle of a gigantic flood plain was a futuristic city full of glittering skyscrapers.

"Is that Karakura Town?" Rukia asked. "I don't recognize it at all!"

"It's definitely Karakura Town," Ichigo said. "I can still detect the Jureichi that the city rests upon. I'm guessing Urahara did more than just renovate the town." He Shunpo-ed down the hill with Rukia on his back and made it to the outskirts of the city, before allowing Rukia to drop down. From up close, the new Karakura Cho was even more impressive. The numerous buildings towered above them like skyscrapers, whilst the streets were now bustling with crowds of people. After a few minutes of observation, it became apparent to Ichigo and Rukia that these people were all Rukongai folk. People who had originally been consigned to poor shanty towns and a life of endless poverty were enjoying comforts that even some of the nobility in Seireitei never had access to.

"Oh my god, this place looks like the Shinjuku or Shibuya district of Tokyo!" Rukia exclaimed. Somehow forgetting the fact she was pregnant, she eagerly rushed through the street checking out all of the shop front windows.

"Hey, wait up Rukia!" Ichigo yelled as he tried to catch up to her. The various shops on display were almost exact replicas of the real world, with women's clothing stores, beauty salons, restaurants and general purpose shops which sold basic household items. As Ichigo and Rukia passed the first intersection and walked deeper into the city, they saw more advanced businesses appear. There was a community hospital run by local people who had knowledge of Kidou and a trading post where people could exchange goods for currency. Finally, as the two of them arrived at a large square that Ichigo once recognized, they were stunned to see to a full blown market in operation, as numerous farmers, fruit growers, herders and other merchants lined shop fronts selling their produce.

"This is unbelievable. To think that a once deserted down would become a fully functional city with a thriving economic culture in such a short span of time," Rukia commented.

"Leave it up to Urahara to do the impossible," Ichigo grinned. "He was able to build the R&D department from scratch, so I bet this was just a further challenge for him. A few blocks further on, Ichigo and Rukia reached a part of the former town that was instantly recognizable to them; the old Urahara Shoten. Much to their surprise, the shop was still standing in its original state. And standing beside the front door were a couple of familiar faces.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-san!" Urahara Kisuke, wearing his iconic black and green ropes, sandals and slouch hat, waved his arm at them. Standing beside him were Ururu and Jinta, who were delighted to see Ichigo and Rukia again.

"I had a feeling you would be waiting at this place for us," Ichigo said. "Still, it's odd to see the shop remaining intact when you've given the rest of the city such a complete makeover."

"To be honest with you, it was the children's idea," Urahara admitted. "I wanted to add several stories to the shop and convert it into a mega mart, but they begged me to keep it the way it was."

"So Jinta and Ururu are still living here?" Rukia asked. "I thought they would be better off living in Seireitei." As soon as she finished her sentence Jinta and Ururu burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding? Why would we hang out with those boring stuck up nobles anyway?" Jinta retorted. "Besides, if we lived in Seireitei, Urahara-san would probably make us attend the stupid Academy."

"The shop isn't as plain as it was before, Kuchiki-san," Ururu said. "Kisuke-san made some major adjustments to it." Ururu's statement surprised Ichigo and Rukia.

"You made adjustments to the shop? What kind of adjustments?" Ichigo asked. Urahara grinned mischievously.

"Why don't I take you and Rukia-san for a tour?" he offered. "You're both eager to see what's changed aren't you?" Ichigo and Rukia nodded nervously as Urahara opened the doors of the shop and allowed them to walk inside. The interior of the store including the living quarters hadn't changed much at all, apart from the installation of several widescreen televisions and a video game console. However, when Urahara showed them the former trapdoor to the underground cellar, he revealed to them that it was now a high-tech lift to a basement level. Just in front of the lift was a set of sliding doors that opened to reveal a sight that beyond Ichigo and Rukia's wildest dreams: an enormous complex that not only contained a research facility, dozens of apartment blocks, a storage warehouse, but also an underground metro system, complete with a fully serviced platform and railway.

"I cannot believe what I'm seeing." Rukia said. "This looks something out of a science fiction movie. How did you even manage to build all of this?"

"That's a good question to ask Kuchiki-san," Urahara said as he led Ichigo and Rukia across a bridge overlooking the metro rail. "I designed the laboratory and the metro systems from blueprints I managed to recover from the real world. For the actual labour required to build the entire project, the tens of thousands of folk from the Rukongai were more than happy to work for me, even as volunteers."

"But I doubt they'd have the technical expertise or the machinery to do construction on this scale," Ichigo said. "You definitely must have received help from another source."

"Ah, you've got me there, Kurosaki-san," Urahara laughed. "Yes, I did have a partner who assisted me with the construction of this complex. Want me to show you where they live?" Ichigo and Rukia nodded. After telling Jinta and Ururu to return to the shop, Urahara led Ichigo and Rukia to the platform, just as a bullet train screeched to the halt beside it. The three of them got on the train and sat down. The doors closed and the train left the platform, picking up speed as it roared down the tunnel.

"Just how big is this metro network?" Ichigo asked as he observed the interior of the train.

"I've planned for it to cover the entire Karakura town area," Urahara replied. "So far the inner central metro loop is finished, and work on the outer boundary loop has just started. With luck, it might even be extended all the way to Seireitei, assuming I can somehow get it to run through the Sekki-sekki field without it getting disintegrated."

"I can see how an underground network like this would be good for Soul Society. It would definitely beat having to Shunpo long distances just to get anywhere," Rukia said.

"Actually, the real reason why I thought of building the metro network is so that the people of Rukongai can be quickly evacuated if Soul Society ever gets invaded," Urahara said. "The destruction of Karakura Town proved that even the most intricate defense can be breached by a well resourced enemy. In those situations it is better to ensure that as many Konpaku are safe and sound."

"How are you going to ensure that everyone in Rukongai is evacuated to safety in the event of an invasion?" Ichigo asked. "Seireitei would never be able to cope with the sheer volume of people."

"Indeed it wouldn't. Which is why I also plan on building large underground bunkers in every single district of Rukongai," Urahara explained. "These bunkers will naturally form the locus point of each district and will all be connected to the metro network. They will also be large enough to house tens of thousands of people, with sufficient supplies to last for several days. The metro network will then be used as means for communication." Ichigo and Rukia were amazed by the thoroughness of Urahara's plan. Neither of them would have been able to conceive a project on such a scale. They were further impressed by the fact that Urahara had done all of this for the sake of the people.

A few minutes later, the bullet train they were riding on stopped at another platform. The three of them got off and walked onto another rectangular lift that took them up to the surface. As they exited onto another street again, Ichigo and Rukia found themselves in the middle of a completely different section of Karakura Town.

"Hey, I recognize this place," Ichigo looked around. "We're across the river, in the Minami-Kawase district."

"That would mean we travelled under the river itself," Rukia pondered. "That's a pretty amazing feat. Still, why are we in this part of Karakura Cho anyway?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Just follow me this way for now," Urahara grinned. Ichigo and Rukia followed Urahara across several city blocks, wondering what he had in stall for them. Finally, Urahara stopped in front of a large building.

"Well, this is the place," he said. Ichigo and Rukia glanced upwards and trembled in awe at the skyscraper that lay in front of them. By far the tallest building they had encountered, it seemed to stretch all the way into the sky. Ichigo could barely make out the tip of the tower, and when he did, he was surprised to see a giant golden statue of a woman standing on a pedestal. The shape of the woman looked incredibly familiar. A sinking feeling came suddenly came over Ichigo.

"Don't tell me…this building belongs to Kukaku?" he asked Urahara, who calmly nodded.

"Yep, she's now the head of Karakura Cho's largest corporation and this skyscraper is her central headquarters," Urahara said. Before Ichigo and Rukia could ask any further questions, Urahara led them inside the building. As they entered the front foyer, they were met by a familiar face.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Shiba Ganju, the younger brother of Kukaku, greeted them as he walked down a long flight of stairs. He was wearing an incredibly lavish golden haori over a simple but elegant white kimono and hakama. Upon his head were his trademark bandana and glasses.

"You're looking quite the pimp there, Ganju," Ichigo said slyly. Ganju grinned.

"Is that so? I'm happy that you've praised my style," he stretched his arms to the side. "As the self-proclaimed lord of Nishi Rukongai and the self-proclaimed deputy mayor of Karakura Cho, I have to look the part if the citizens are going to obey me."

"Your titles are self-proclaimed!" Ichigo and Rukia both shouted at him,

"Now, now, Ganju, don't get carried away," Urahara laughed. "You'd be in big trouble if Kukaku-san hears what you've said to us." Urahara's words made Ganju suddenly become anxious.

"Promise me you won't tell Nee-san about my comments here, will you?" Ganju literally got on his knees and pleaded to Urahara.

"Don't worry, I shall keep this a secret between you and me. Now, could take me, Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-san, to your sister? We would like to speak to her." Ganju nodded and led the other three up towards the higher levels of the tower. The flights of stairs seemed to go on forever, but eventually they reached the top floor.

"Hey nee-san, you've got some old friends who would like to see you," Ganju knocked on the door of his sister's office.

"Really? Tell them to come in. The door isn't locked," Kukaku's voice responded from the inside. As Ganju opened the door Ichigo and Rukia could see Shiba Kukaku sitting behind a massive oak desk, dressed in a similar outfit to what she used to wear, apart from an overcoat as pompous as Ganju's draped around her shoulders.

"Good morning Kisuke," Kukaku said. "Did you come for another round of business talk?"

"Sort of. But more importantly, I've brought along two old friends," Urahara smiled. When Kukaku saw Ichigo and Rukia, Kukaku closed her eyes and grinned. She motioned the three of them to sit on the nearby chairs as she ordered Ganju to prepare some tea and sake.

"So, how are things going Ichigo?" Kukaku asked. "I haven't seen you or Rukia-san since the two of you got married. And in the several months since the news I've heard from others about you were often so outlandish that I thought they were made up."

"Well, I have to admit we did get up to a lot of crazy stuff during our honeymoon adventure." Ichigo said with a nervous laugh. He glanced at Rukia who nodded hesitantly.

"Oh, the reports from your mission to the real world were quite believable," Kukaku said. "I've heard similar stories from Isshin-san when he was off on missions over there. What's more surprising is the stuff you've been up to since to since you came back. Stuff about a democratic government, running the Shinigami Academy and Rukia-san being pregnant…man, the two of you sure have caused a sensation even out here in Rukongai." Kukaku handed Ichigo and Rukia a broadsheet newspaper. On the front page was a large picture of Ichigo standing on a podium, giving an address. The headline read 'Hero of the Heavenly War gives radical speech'. At the bottom of the front page was a smaller photo of Rukia showing a clear visible bump around her waist, accompanied by the headline 'Kuchiki princess pregnant with twins.'

"What the hell is this? Who took these photos? Now everyone in Soul Society knows about my pregnancy!" Rukia exclaimed in outrage.

"You shouldn't be surprised that the word has leaked out," Kukaku said. "This newspaper is produced by one of the Gotei division and gets distributed throughout Seireitei and most of the Rukongai districts. It's likely that the people in charge of making the newspaper heard about your secrets from your friends and relatives perhaps."

"Don't worry about it Rukia. As long as long as nothing slanderous is reported about us, it wouldn't hurt our reputation if we receive more publicity," Ichigo said with confidence.

"I certainly hope that's the case," Rukia sighed.

"I'm interested about this whole idea of democracy. The newspaper article's explanation of it was rather vague," Kukaku said. "Do you mind explaining it to me in detail?" Ichigo looked at Urahara and Ganju, who also seemed keen to listen to what he had to say. With a deep breath, he launched into a lengthy but nevertheless concise explanation about the system of government that he and his father had drafted. When he was finally finished, he noticed that it took the other three a considerable amount of time to take in everything he said.

"Well, I've said everything you need to know about it," Ichigo said. "What do you reckon?"

"Hmm…giving power to the people does sound intriguing," Kukaku pondered.

"Would you be interested in running for office then?" Ichigo asked. "The nobility have been won over to the cause, but we're going to need to people who have strong support bases amongst the Rukongai populace in order for the government to be successful. Kukaku gave Ichigo a grin that made it seem like she was keen on taking up his offer. But then she suddenly shook her head.

"Sorry, but I've got too much work on my hands to take on the additional responsibility of running Soul Society. Helping Kisuke build his dream vision of a modern Karakura Cho is already hard enough for me. Besides, I don't want to get involved in the politics of Seireitei again. It was because of those stinking nobles, especially the Laodemons that caused me to lose my right arm."

"Does that mean you lost your arm when you and your brother were banished from Seireitei?" Rukia asked. When Kukaku nodded, neither she nor Ichigo could think of anything to say, for both of them remembered the fallout that Isshin's fall from grace had caused.

"Perhaps Ganju might be interested in Ichigo's offer?" Urahara suggested. "He'd probably be more enthusiastic running for office than working as your assistant.

"What the hell Kisuke? Ganju wouldn't be interested in working for the Shinigami again at all!" Kukaku exclaimed angrily. But then when she saw Ganju's gleaming eyes, she almost had a heart attack. "You can't be serious Ganju!"

"Why not Nee-san? I've gotten over what happened with big brother Kaien," Ganju said. "Plus, as Urahara-san just said, being the boss of a whole lot of people sounds a lot more interesting than being your personal slave. Besides, this is my chance to turn my formerly self-proclaimed titles into real titles. I could definitely see myself as the ruler of the Nishi Rukongai!"

At this point Ganju stood up and posed in an arrogant stance. This made Kukaku so mad she threw a spare Reishaku core she had in her pocket at Ganju's head.

"So you were planning on ditching me all along eh? Well I'm going to make you push a thousand times as hard for saying such outlandish phrases!" she shouted at Ganju. Then she proceeded to stomp on Ganju's head multiple times, despite Ganju's vain cries for help.

"Hey, calm down Kukaku," Ichigo tried hard not to laugh. "You're going to kill him if you keep going." Kukaku eventually stopped her ruthless assault and sat down again, leaving Ganju with multiple lumps and bruises on his face.

"Would you mind telling me why I should stop having Ganju work for me?" Kukaku.

"Um, well, Ganju does have a point in saying his skills would be better suited to being a politician," Ichigo explained. "Doesn't he have a considerable gathering of followers in Rukongai? His 'gang' could provide the perfect base for a grassroots campaign to mobilize the Rukongai citizens."

"Hmm, I'm still skeptical of the whole thing, but I'll let Ganju off for now. If he manages to finally make himself a man, I'll even promise not to get in his way." Ganju was so touched by his sister's words that he broke down in tears.

"Thank you nee-san, thank you so much," he cried.

"Well then, we'll leave the two of you alone for now," Urahara said. "I think Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-san might be interested in seeing the remaining areas of Karakura Cho." He, Ichigo and Rukia all waved goodbye to Kukaku and Ganju and proceeded to the ground floor of the tower. As the three of them walked out onto the street, a brilliant idea suddenly came to Ichigo's mind.

"You know Urahara, I was thinking that perhaps you should run for office too," he spoke out loud. "Maybe even for President of Soul Society." Ichigo's suggestion took Urahara completely by surprise.

"Gosh, I never thought about that," he said frankly. "For the last few months I've been content to be the de-facto mayor of Karakura Cho."

"I doubt you would be able to remain under the radar for long," Rukia reminded Urahara. "Soon enough, the Seireitei will notice what you've been up to and it will be hard to justify all of the construction work you've done unless you have a strong political base yourself."

"I have to admit your argument makes sense. I guess you're more knowledgeable about the politics of Soul Society than I am," Urahara laughed. "But then again, why are the two of you asking me to run of office when you could easily get elected as President yourself Ichigo? Especially with your status as the hero of the Heavenly War."

"Oh please, I'm only revered because I managed to kill Aizen. You were responsible for the strategy that won us the war," Ichigo said in a flattered tone. "As for me becoming the President, well Isshin, Tessai and I deliberately put restrictions in the constitution that prevents any individual from holding more than one political position. Since I'm the head of the Shiba Clan and a captain to boot, I automatically hold a seat on the new Central 46 council. So I'm barred from running for another office. Besides, like Kukaku-san I've already got my hands full running the Shinigami Academy."

"Making the same excuse as Kukaku eh, how very Shiba-like of you," Urahara teased Ichigo. "Well, I guess this wouldn't be the first time I was the head of something revolutionary. I founded the Research and Development Institute after all, so me being the President of Soul Society could allow me the leeway to complete my plan for Karakura Cho and Rukongai. Still, it would be hard to relinquish my role as mayor of the city, as I've grown quite attached to that role."

"I think Ganju would be a good enough replacement," Rukia said. "Lord of Nishi Rukongai or not, he would make a useful political ally in the forthcoming elections. Plus, this way you'll have access to Kukaku-san's tremendous financial resources."

"That's another excellent idea Kuchiki-san. I'll speak to Ganju and Kukaku about it. Now, do the two of you have any more suggestions I should make?" Urahara asked. Ichigo and Rukia pondered a bit.

"This is something you might come up with yourself, but with we're going to need an assembly hall large enough to fit all of the representatives of the Rukongai districts," Ichigo suggested. "Can you build or renovate a building within the next two months?"

"Of course I can Kurosaki-san. I have just the building in mind for that role. With help from Kukaku, I'll have it done within three weeks."

"That would be great. Thanks for everything Urahara-san," Ichigo said. With that, he and Rukia said goodbye to Urahara and started the long journey back to Seireitei. With Rukia sitting on his shoulder, Ichigo quickly Shunpo-ed out of Karakura Cho.

"Are you going to leave everything to Urahara and Ganju?" Rukia asked Ichigo.

"Maybe. I'll see how things pan out," Ichigo replied.

"Still, it would have been interesting if you had run for President," Rukia smiled.

* * *

Notes: This chapter sees the return of some old favourites in Urahara, Kukaku and Ganju. They'll be in an important part in the upcoming chapters as the Soul Society Elections are held. The highlight of this chapter for most readers will probably be the new look for Karakura Town. Apart from making it look like an actual city, the new features of the town, such as the underground metro system, Kukaku's skyscraper, and the upcoming assembly hall, will feature not only in the second half of this story but also in Shinigami Academy and possibly future works.


	6. Chapter 6: Election Day

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: With the constitution for Soul Society's new government now complete, the real challenge for Ichigo and his friends has begun as the countdown to the general elections begins. Having heard the news of Karakura Town's reconstruction, Ichigo and Rukia decide to visit it to see what it's become. Once there, they meet up with Urahara, Ganju and Kukaku, who have taken on unofficial roles as the leaders of the city. When Urahara tells Ichigo of his master plan for Rukongai and Seireitei, Ichigo convinces him and Ganju to nominate themselves for political office...

* * *

Chapter 6: Election Day

In the weeks after Ichigo and Rukia's visit to Karakura Cho, the run-up to the great Soul Society began. With the assistance of Kukaku's vast construction corporation, Urahara began work on refurbishing one of Karakura Cho's former sports stadiums into the legislative assembly building for Rukongai. Meanwhile, individuals from both Seireitei and Rukongai launched their election campaigns. Shiba Ganju's launch in particular drew vast crowds from all over Soul Society, and attracted attention even from a few senior officers within the Gotei 13.

On the day that Ganju was set to make his landmark speech in the former Karakura High School field, eighth division captain Abarai Renji visited the city, accompanied by his lieutenant Yadomaru Lisa. Like Ichigo and Rukia, they had been taken aback at the sheer scale and magnificence of the entire place.

"Man, I never thought that Urahara guy would be capable of a reconstruction on this scale," Renji said as he gazed around. "It's almost as large as Seireitei now."

"Heh, I'm not surprised at all by this," Lisa grinned. "Urahara was able to set up the massive Research and Development Institute from scratch and within nine years turned it into one of Seireitei's largest bodies. Given the amount of capital and labour at his disposal, he'd naturally be capable of producing something like this."

"Well, let's not tally around. I've heard one of the Karakura Shibas, Shiba Ganju if I'm not mistaken, is going to make an impressive speech." Renji and Lisa hurried to the former high school field, and joined the vast crowd that had already gathered. More than thirty thousand people, both from Rukongai and Seireitei, surrounded a raised platform in the middle of the field. As Renji and Lisa tried to sift through the crowd, they encountered several familiar faces.

"Hey, Renji, what are you doing here?" Ikkaku and his drinking buddy Yumichika asked upon seeing the eighth division captain.

"Ikkaku, you should address me as Captain Abarai," Renji pointed out to him. "And for your information I came here to see what this Ganju fellow is on about."

"Looks like you and I have the same reasons," Ikkaku said.

"Abarai, Ikkaku, Yumichika!" Hisagi suddenly called out from behind. He was accompanied by Kira Izuru and Ushoda Hachigen.

"Have you three also come to watch the speech?" Renji asked.

"To be more precise, I'm actually here to record the speech for the Soul Society newspaper," Hisagi replied. Renji looked at Kira and Hachigen, who shrugged their heads.  
"Our captains ordered us to come here for no reason," Kira said.

"I think it's to ensure this rally doesn't get out of hand," Hachigen added.

"Have any of the other lieutenants been ordered to come here?" Lisa asked.

"I think I saw Matsumoto and Yachiru somewhere," Hisagi said. "They were accompanied by Momo-chan and a few other girls from the Shinigami Women's Association."

"It seems that most of the captains don't want to make the journey out here, so they sent the lieutenants instead," Yumichika said.

"But then why is Captain Abarai here?" Kira asked.

"I wasn't interested in the political squabbling and backroom deals that are going on in Seireitei right now," Renji replied. "So I thought it would be better to see what was going on here. Besides, if something happens, I'll have authority to organize all of you into a cohesive force." The gang of officers from the Gotei 13 filtered amongst the crowd and waited for the main star to take the stage.

Ten minutes later, the lights suddenly shone upon the raised platform in the middle of the field. Then in a spectacular entrance, the self-proclaimed 'Lord of Nishi Rukongai' jumped onto the platform wearing an extravagant outfit, with a lavish hakama and kimono combo covered by an oversized golden haori. As Shiba Ganju stood grabbed a set of microphones, the entire crowd went wild and started chanting his name out loudly.

"Is everyone ready for a revolution?" Ganju shouted into his microphone.

"YES!!!" was the feverish response from the entire crowd. The frantic responses from the ordinary Rukongai folk baffled the Gotei 13 officers who found it hard to comprehend what was going on.

"Okay listen up men, the Soul Society is finally returning to civilian rule after years of being dominated by the military," Ganju started his speech. "But instead of being ruled by the noble scum again, we Rukongai folk finally have a chance to make ourselves heard! We cannot afford to squander this once in a lifetime opportunity. I, Shiba Ganju, the self proclaimed Lord of Nishi Rukongai, will promise to stand up for the rights of all the ordinary citizens of Rukongai, if I am elected into office. Most of you should already be familiar with the work that I've done.

"My loyal followers and I helped evacuate and settle thousands of refugees during King Aizen's tyrannical rule and in the months since his defeat we've provided housing and aid to the previous ravaged districts and helped them to recover from the war. As the brother to the famed Shiba Kukaku, head of the Karakura Reconstruction Corporation and being a member of the Shiba noble house, I have ties to the highest echelons of Soul Society's political and economic spheres. I will promise to listen to all of your suggestions and views and will try to campaign for them in the very heart of Seireitei itself!" With that, Ganju ended the speech and proceeded to introduce his political advisors, four men with very strange hairstyles. One had a Mohawk, a second an afro, the third had hair like Kira's and the fourth was bald. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the four of them had been members of Ganju's gang in his days as a street punk, but now they were all addressed up in neat looking robes.

"Alright everyone, let's shake and rattle and roll and rock Karakura Cho as hard as you can!" Ganju shouted into the microphone one last time. This caused the entire crowd to burst into a manic state of partying and loud music. Bright lights were lit across the field, numerous people sang and danced, and bottles of sake were consumed.

For the Shinigami that were present, all of this was almost too much to bear, so the entire group decided to head some distance way from the field and congregate amongst themselves.

"Phew, that was a close call," Renji said. "I almost got caught in a crowd crush."

"Hey, why did you call us to gather here?" Ikkaku asked. "It was an opportunity for us to relax and unwind."

"Idiot, we're the ones supposed to keep law and order if there are any signs of trouble," Kira reminded him. "Besides, I bet you just wanted the sake."

"So, what do we all think about this Ganju person's speech?" Hisagi asked.  
"I'd say he was quite spectacular, but he lacked a certain elegance and beauty," Yumichika replied.

"He seems to have a mass following amongst the Rukongai folk," Lisa said.

"That could either be of benefit to us or a hindrance," Renji summed it all up. "If he gets the ordinary folk riled up into an open revolution against Seireitei, this could spell some major trouble. I just hope that Ichigo knows what he's doing. I've heard that he was the one who suggested to Shiba Ganju to run for office in the first place." The group of Shinigami officers looked on as the crowd continued to party well into the night.

Ganju wasn't the only one making his move. Deep in the heart of Eastern Rukongai, and inside a secluded fortress-like mansion surrounded by a lush rainforest garden, the heads of the Laodemon and Julius clans converged to discuss their hidden agendas.

"Sorry it took me so long to come here," the head of the Julius clan, Julius Aurelian, said as he arrived at the front chamber of the mansion.

"It doesn't matter. I just got here a short while ago," the head of the Laodemon clan, Laodemon Priam, accepted Aurelian's apology. The two nobles walked through the mansion until they reached a lavish and pompous living room. They sat down on some plush chairs as numerous male servants and slave girls attended to their needs.

"Want a drink?" Priam asked. He motioned to a slave girl to pour some wine into a glass.

"Have you heard the raucous in Karakura City?" Aurelian asked Priam as he drank from the glass. Priam nodded.

"Personally, I'm disgusted at the way those lowly people behaved," he said. "Ranting and raving about like a pack of deranged lunatics. But the apparent leader of the movement, Shiba Ganju, is a potentially dangerous fellow."

"Isn't he related to the captain of the fifth division and head of the Shiba family, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Aurelian asked.

"I heard they're half-cousins or something. In any case the two of them clearly have ties with each other. A person as crude and unintelligent as this 'Lord of Nishi Rukongai' wouldn't have the ability to rally such a powerful support amongst the citizenry unless he was assisted by someone from within Seireitei. The fact that he's related to that dastardly Kurosaki means that this is all part of a much larger scheme of the Shiba clan to seek power." Aurelian nodded in agreement.

"What about the mayor of Karakura Cho, Urahara Kisuke? He's a potential enemy as well. In a few months he was able to build a whole series of underground tunnels running some sort of steam-powered vehicles."

"Yes, he is definitely a dangerous person. My father exiled him to the real world a century ago precisely because the ideas he represented threatened the existing social order. This time, it will be much harder for us to stop him. Apparently he is also allied with Kurosaki Ichigo, and some of my spies have indicated he also has links with the Shihouin clan."

"So what's our strategy to confront Urahara Kisuke and Shiba Ganju? The two could potentially join forces and instigate a massive political movement that could easily take over Soul Society."

"Well, the Rukongai does not matter much. The legislative assembly that is being built will be nothing more than a rubber stamp body, or at least have almost no real power. The real political influence will still lie within the renewed Central 46 council. As long as we have control of the council as the two of our clans did long before, we can easily shape the laws to our desire."

"Yes indeed, that is a great idea. Control the council and rule it as oligarchs. It will make a mockery of Kurosaki Ichigo's drawn out plans!" Aurelian exclaimed with excitement.

"There is but one problem though," Priam noted. "We still need to have a figurehead as President, one that we can control like a puppet. Since the two of us already have automatic seats on the council, we're barred from running for office directly."

"I have the perfect solution to that problem," Aurelian said. "My brother, Augustulus, is hardly as intelligent as I am, but he's charismatic and has the image that will attract even the people in Rukongai to him. He will make the perfect Presidential candidate."

"That is an excellent suggestion Aurelian," Priam nodded. "He shall be the public face of our two clans. We shall contest and hopefully win half of the legislative assembly and even if we don't, as long as we control of the councils, everything will be ours." The two nobles cackled with delight as their slaves and servants stood listlessly around them…

Three weeks to the day since he last visited Karakura Cho, Ichigo returned to see how the work was progressing. True to Urahara's words, the reconstruction work on the former Karakura Stadium was complete, with the circular dome complex now housing the legislative assembly house for the whole of Rukongai. As Ichigo arrived at the front entrance of the dome he was greeted by Urahara.

"Good morning, Kurosaki!" Urahara waved at Ichigo. "Have you come to inspect my work?"

"Sort of," Ichigo laughed. The two of them walked inside the dome and soon entered the main chamber area. The former baseball pitch had been replaced by a central auditorium area whilst the grandstands had been converted into rows of seats for the three hundred and twenty representatives of the Rukongai districts to sit in. In the centre of the auditorium were several raised lecterns, one much higher than the others, with the rest arranged in rows that were parallel to each other.

"What do you think Kurosaki-san?" Urahara asked as he allowed Ichigo to take in the enormity of the entire chamber.

"I think it's magnificent," Ichigo replied. "It's easily the equal of any parliament house in the real world and I dare say even grander than the Central 46 chambers."

"Ha, ha, that's quite a compliment. Considering that I didn't really have to do a lot of major changes." Ichigo followed Urahara up to the former grand stand tiers and closely examined each of the seat names.

"It appears you've arranged the seats in a manner that reflects Rukongai's orientation, with the northern districts in the northern stand, the western districts in the western stand, and so on," Ichigo said. "What about the podiums in the middle? What are they for?"

"They're the podiums that individual members of the assembly can use to address their fellow legislators. The largest of the lecterns is reserved for the speaker of the house, whose sole job is to obtain order whilst the assembly is in session."

"I see, you've really gone and done your research and modeled the assembly on a real world parliament house haven't you?"

"Not exactly, I just remembered what I had seen of the Houses of Congress back when I was working for the United States Government."

"Ah I had forgotten about all of your past history with them," Ichigo laughed.

"By the way Kurosaki-san, how will the elections actually take place? I haven't had the chance to look at the constitution in detail," Urahara said.

"It's simple really. Each of the 320 districts of Rukongai is assigned one representative, who is elected by a majority vote. Whoever gets the most votes automatically wins the seat. The Central 46 on the other hand, will all be hereditary posts assigned to each of the noble houses of Seireitei, including the thirteen captains who each hold a seat on the council. As for the overall government as a whole, whichever Presidential candidate wins more than fifty percent of the assembly and fifty percent of the council becomes the President. Though his jurisdiction will cover all of Soul Society, his actual legislative power will lie with the assembly." When Ichigo finished his explanation he waited for Urahara to take it all in.

"Hmm, that system resembles the Congress in the United States a lot," Urahara noted. "I thought you were going to model it after the Japanese diet."

"Nah, I changed my mind. Letting multiple political parties in would be far too complex a system. In any case, the President could be considered a chief minister, since the title of the head of state still resides with the Royal Family," Ichigo said.

"That's good to know. I wouldn't want to be accused of usurping the King by the monarchists if I get elected would I?" Urahara chuckled. The two of them, having finished their tour of the assembly building, decided to head outside. Upon exiting the dome, they were met by Ganju and his cronies.

"Yo Ichigo, it's nice to see you again," Ganju pushed up his sunglasses.

"How are things going with your campaign?" Ichigo asked him. "I heard about your amazing speech in the Seireitei newspapers. The crowd on that day must have been phenomenal."

"It was larger than I expected, but that was just a bonus for me. Right now, all of the eighty districts in Nishi Rukongai are showing solid support for my party."

"That's good news Ganju-san. I was wondering though, you would mind joining forces with me?" Urahara asked. "Although no doubt you'd probably have far greater support in Nishi Rukongai, it is unlikely you'll be able to win the other sectors, let alone Seireitei."

"Are you suggesting that I place my party under yours?" Ganju didn't appear to agree with Urahara's idea, which Ichigo found understandable.

"Of course I'm not. The two of us should work together as a team. You don't have aspirations of becoming President do you?" Urahara's question made Ganju think for a short while.

"Hmm, that's a hard question to answer. Whilst being President would mean I have the ultimate authority, the prospect of dealing with the nobility again frightens me. I'd be content to retain control over Nishi Rukongai."

"If that's all you want then I have a good suggestion to make," Ichigo said. "Why don't you become Urahara's deputy President? You can take care of most of the running of the legislative assembly, whilst he deals with the broader issues, and especially negotiates with the Council. As for your political party, it can join in a coalition with the movement that Urahara has founded by himself."

"What about you Ichigo? How are you helping Urahara?" Ganju asked.

"Well I'm restricted to being a member of the Council, but since I'm both a captain and the head of the Shiba family, I'll probably be one of its most powerful members. I can use my considerable influence among the Gotei 13 to rally political support around Urahara-san."

"In short, Kurosaki-san is offering to perform the same role in the Council as you might perform in the Assembly," Urahara stated. "The three of us alone would not stand a chance against the Laodemon-Julius group, but united we can form a powerful enough force to take the government."

"Heh, that's fine enough with me," Ganju smirked. "So when does the election proper take place?" Ichigo took out his soul phone and checked on his calendar.

"Let's see…the election will be held ten days from now. We have until then to get as many people in Rukongai and Seireitei to support us. The Laodemons and Juliuses have probably started promoting their puppet candidate by now, so we need to move quickly," Ichigo said. With that, the three of them said goodbye to each other and went about plotting their own campaign strategies. Ganju would take care of Nishi Rukongai, Urahara would seek to win the support of the other Rukongai districts, whilst Ichigo would gather up the nobles in Seireitei.

In the ten days leading up to the election, the excitement in both Rukongai and Seireitei rose to unprecedented levels. Shinigami, nobility and ordinary folk everywhere were discussing about the election, the candidates and the political parties. Although two clearly defined factions had already formed, one around the Urahara alliance and the other around the Laodemon and Julius clique, several other groups expressed interest in participating in the election themselves. One of them was the Shinigami Women's Association. In a general meeting eight days out from the election, the various female officers gathered together to discuss their plans.

"Alright everyone, we're here to talk about which party we shall support in the election!" Nanao proclaimed. As everyone sat down, it became apparent that a few people were missing. Yoruichi and Soifon were busy with their duties as members of the Council, but one of the more noticeable absentees was Rukia.

"Where's Kuchiki-san?" Kiyone asked. "Shouldn't she be here as well?"

"Ahem, Kuchiki-san has taken leave of absence due to her pregnancy," Nanao replied. "Now then, let's return to discussing the side we shall support. Do we want to go for Urahara Kisuke or Julius Augustulus?"

"That Augustulus guy looks so handsome and intelligent," Matsumoto said. "He'd definitely win my vote if it was a popularity contest."

"Hey looks aren't everything Rangiku-san!" Hinamori objected.

"Momo-chan is right. We need to look at their backgrounds and personalities before deciding," Isane said. "Between the two men, Urahara Kisuke would seem a safer bet."

"I hate to be rooting for my old superior, but Urahara seems far more trustworthy than this Julius Augustulus guy," Hiyori said. "Urahara may have been a jerkass but he did a lot of really good stuff for Soul Society, plus I owe him for saving my life."

"I support Urahara too. What he did with Karakura Town in the last few months has been astounding," Mashiro added. "I doubt the other guy could claim a feat that impressive."

"Actually, this Julius Augustulus, whoever he is, might actually be a puppet or front for someone else," Lisa added. "Until he proclaimed his campaign I doubt anyone here would have heard of him."

"Isn't that Sandal Hat guy friends with Ichigo? If he is then I support him too. Since Ichigo is a friend of Ken-chan then Sandal Hat must be Ken-chan's friend too!" Yachiru squealed in a happy voice. The other girls didn't quite get what she was saying, but as she was the president of the association, they all agreed with her.

"Then it has been decided," Nanao said. "The Shinigami Women's Association shall throw its full support behind the Urahara alliance. Any of you who are members of the nobility should definitely give him your vote in the Council." With that, one of Soul Society's most prominent groups added its weight to Urahara, Ganju and Ichigo's campaign.

Come election day, almost all of the Rukongai districts, but especially Karakura Cho itself, were abuzz with actively. Thousands of people from each district gathered at their local voting booth and cast their support for either of the two main parties. In Seireitei, the mood was slightly more subdued, as most of the political struggle had taken place behind the scenes. Within the chambers of the Council of 46, Kurotsuchi Mayuri and the Research and Development Institute managed to erect a giant projector screen upon one of the walls. The screen would show live feeds of the results from each of the three hundred and twenty districts once the voting had closed. The crux of the election would not hinge upon the Rukongai districts however, but upon the dangerous game that was still being played inside the chambers of the Council.

"That's quite a nifty television screen you managed to set up," Ichigo said as he walked past Kurotsuchi Mayuri. "Did you get help from Urahara?"

"Are you implying that my team of scientists don't have the skills to assemble something as simple as this?" Mayuri asked back. "Just like Urahara, I have knowledge of real world technology as well." Mayuri gave Ichigo an emotionless grin as he walked off to do some maintenance work. Ichigo didn't really mind. He knew that with Urahara having been his former superior, Mayuri would support him. With the close of the voting still a few hours away, Ichigo decided to head back to his division barracks. Just as he left the Council chambers, he was stopped by Tessai and Commander Unohana.

"Tessai-san, Commander, do the two of you wish to speak to me?" Ichigo asked.

"As a matter of fact we do," Unohana replied. "Please come to my office." Ichigo followed the two other captains to the first division barracks. When Unohana led them back to her office, Ichigo was surprised to see Soifon, Kenpachi, Hitsugaya, Kensei, Love and Rose all sitting in chairs around Unohana's desk.

"It's been a while since we've seen you, Ichigo," Kenpachi said as Ichigo sat down in a seat beside him. Ichigo couldn't help but feel a little nervous as he gave Kenpachi a slight nod back.

"I am sure you must be wondering why I've called all of you captains, but especially you, Captain Kurosaki, here to see me," Unohana said. There was a moment's pause as they all waited for to continue. "The answer is simple: as members of the Council of 46, we also need to decide which Presidential Candidate we wish to support. The upcoming elections will mark the transition of power from the Gotei 13 to the new civilian administration. The person we entrust the running of Seireitei to must be someone we can trust. As you all are aware by now, there are two major candidates for the Presidency, the former twelve division captain Urahara Kisuke and the Lieutenant of the Kido Corps, Julius Augustulus. Which of the two should we cast our vote for in the Council election?"

From the moment Unohana finished her question, Ichigo had a feeling that the answer would be obvious. Of the nine captains in the room, only Hitsugaya, Kenpachi and Unohana did not have a close relationship with Urahara in the past. After several minutes of talk, Unohana motioned the captains in the room to voice their opinions.

"Urahara is undisputedly the better candidate," Kensei said. "He may have made a lot of mistakes in the past, but he's more than made up for them." Rose and Love nodded.

"I hate to admit it, but Urahara was and still is a close friend of mine," Soifon said. Her opinion was shared by Tessai.

"Unlike the rest of you, I've had little contact with Urahara Kisuke, yet I think he's more trustworthy than the other person from the Julius clan," Hitsugaya said.

"Urahara's a friend of Ichigo, that's enough to make me put my trust in him," Kenpachi said. Having heard from the other captains, Unohana turned to face Ichigo.

"Captain Kurosaki, I am aware that you, your father and Captain Kuchiki have formed a group along with Lieutenant Shihouin Yoruichi," Unohana said. "Am I correct in assuming that the four of you are currently providing political support to Urahara Kisuke?"

"That is correct, Commander," Ichigo replied.

"Captain Kurotsuchi and Captain Abarai have also expressed their support for Urahara Kisuke. The decision is unanimous then. We captains of the Gotei 13 will vote for him in the Council elections. Please instruct any of your lieutenants or seated officers who are also members of the Council to vote for him as well." With those final instructions, Unohana dismissed the brief meeting. Ichigo left her office feeling relieved. He was confident that he and Urahara now had enough support in the Council to win a majority vote. As he headed back to his division office, he bumped into Renji, who had just returned from touring Karakura Cho.

"I heard there was a meeting," Renji said. Ichigo nodded. "What was it about?"

"It was nothing major. We just all agreed unanimously to support Urahara," Ichigo said. "I guess you've already made your mind to vote for him long before."

"To be more precise, I'm voting for Ganju's party," Renji said. "Lisa and I helped campaign for him in the Northern and Southern Rukongai districts." Ichigo was pleased to hear this. With the possibility of both Northern and Southern Rukongai supporting Urahara, the assembly was a good as won.

"Well, the two of us have done everything we can. All we can do now is to wait for the results to come in," Ichigo said. Renji nodded. The two of them headed back to their division barracks.

Several hours later, the voting booths had closed and the counting for all three hundred and twenty Rukongai districts had begun. As the results slowly trickled in, the most powerful nobles in Seireitei, including the thirteen captains; had all gathered inside the Council of 46 chambers and watched the numbers with fervent anticipation. Within an hour, it soon became apparent that both Western and Eastern Rukongai had been decided. Western Rukongai showed almost complete support for Ganju's political party, whilst Eastern Rukongai was dominated by the Julius clan. The struggle for the Northern and Southern districts was more intense, with numerous districts changing sides rapidly. Eventually however, the Urahara-Ganju alliance had succeeded in winning a majority of districts in both Northern and Southern Rukongai, and thus decisively won control for the assembly.

The struggle now turned upon the political game that was being played out within the Council. Ichigo, Byakuya and Yoruichi, the leaders of three of the great noble families, faced off against Priam and Aurelian, the heads of the other two. Sitting alongside them were their political allies.

Ichigo's group was supported by the other captains and noble officers, who occupied a combined total of twenty one seats. Priam and Aurelian however, were backed up by seventeen other noble families, most of whom had relatives who were part of the original Central 46. With both sides tied at twenty one seats each, it was up to the four nobles who hadn't yet taken a side to determine the final outcome. Having worked hard to persuade them in the two weeks leading up to the election, Ichigo was confident that he had won their votes.

The tension in the room reached the boiling point as the two opposing factions waited impatiently for the four nobles to openly declare their vote. After what seemed like an eternity, the four of them held up sheets of paper with the name of their chosen candidate on it. Three of the nobles had written Urahara's name, whilst the last one had written Augustulus'. The silent tension in the Council room was broken as Ichigo and the other Gotei 13 nobles celebrated with cheers and applause. Mere seconds after the last votes were cast, the giant project screen in the room showed the final break-down of votes for both the Council and the Assembly. Urahara had secured two hundred votes in the Assembly and twenty four in the Council. His opponent Augustulus had a hundred and twenty votes and twenty two votes respectively.

Outraged at the results, Priam, Aurelian and their supporters angrily stormed out of the council chambers, vowing that the struggle was far from over. The captains and officers didn't seem to care. Ichigo was already on the phone to Urahara.

"Hey Urahara-san, did you see the results?" Ichigo asked.

"I did just now and boy was I surprised by them," Urahara replied. His end of the line was filled with so much static that Ichigo barely heard his words.

"What's with the noise at your end?"

"That noise you're hearing is the sound of the wild celebration outside the Assembly hall. There's about fifty thousand people gathered here and they're all cheering for Ganju who's seemingly taken my place. You and the other captains should come here fast or you'll miss the excitement."

"And leave Seireitei defenceless?" Ichigo joked. "Don't worry about it. We'll be waiting for you to come here." With that Ichigo ended the phone call. He looked Byakuya, his father and Yoruichi. The four of them hugged and shook hands, relieved that the months long political campaign was finally over.

"We did it dad, the New Order we imagined has finally arrived," Ichigo said.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that Ichigo," Isshin sighed. "The election was just the first hurdle. I have a feeling there's a far greater struggle ahead of us."

* * *

Notes: This chapter proved harder to write than I first thought. It was difficult to keep track of all of the characters, make sure they were in character, and convey all of the political intrique. The election itself was modelled after a mismatch of inspirations. The Assembly is obviously a homage to the US Congress. The Council of 46 on the other hand, is more like the old House of Lords in the UK, or perhaps the Roman Senate. The chapter also introduces two other new characters, both from the Julius clan.

Julius Aurelian: The head of the clan, he is Priam's long time friend and co-conspirator.

Julius Augustulus: Aurelian's younger brother. He hasn't been introduced formally yet, but he will appear in person next chapter.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7: The Inauguration

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: With military rule in Soul Society officially at an end, general elections were held for the Council of 46 and the Assembly of Rukongai. The election became a contest between two opposing factions, one formed by Urahara, Ganju, Ichigo and the Gotei 13 captains, and the other dominated by the Laodemon and Julius clans. The election for the assembly was easily won by Urahara' faction, but the contest for the Council turned into a bitter political struggle as both sides struggled to win the support of the few neutral nobles who belonged to neither faction. By the smallest of margins, Ichigo and the captains secured victory over the Laodemon-Julius alliance. The way is clear for the inauguration of Urahara as President...

* * *

Chapter 7: The Inauguration

After a long and grueling night in the Council of 46 chambers, Ichigo returned to the Shiba Manor for some much needed rest and relaxation. As he arrived at the front door, he was greeted with a hug by an overjoyed Rukia. Now more than four months pregnant, her baby bump was clearly visible.

"I was starting to worry about you, Ichigo," she said. "You haven't come back here for weeks.

"I know, it's been an incredibly busy time," Ichigo nodded. "I'll probably be away again over the next week or so as they're holding Urahara's inauguration ceremony."

"So Urahara won the election didn't he? What does he plan on doing now that he's become the President?" Rukia asked. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know really. He and I have discussed the possibilities of a post-military rule Soul Society but so far nothing concrete has been planned," Ichigo replied. As he and Rukia entered the house, he noticed that Rukia was stumbling a little. He held her hands and assisted her to a chair where she sat down.

"Is there something wrong Rukia? It looks like you've pushed yourself too hard," Ichigo said with concern. Rukia's face was red all over and when Ichigo felt her forehead he was surprised at how warm it was.

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but I just couldn't sit around the house all day," Rukia said. "With you and your father campaigning during the election, and Karin and Yuzu studying at the Academy, there's no one in the house except for me. Do you realize how lonely I've been?" Ichigo knew perfectly well what Rukia was talking about, and he sighed in a deep tone of regret.

"I'm sorry for leaving you alone here for so long. I know how much you want to return to your duties, and how hard it's been for you during these last few months. I promise you Rukia that after the inauguration business is over, I'll come by here and stay with you more often." As Ichigo held Rukia's hands in his hands, he saw that Rukia started to cry.

"Baka, you know what happens when you make a promise that vague," Rukia sobbed and laughed at the same time. "Just do what you say you intend to do and I'll be happy." Ichigo couldn't help but smile.

The next morning, Ichigo woke up early and saw that Rukia was still sound asleep. After kissing her in the cheek, Ichigo quickly got changed and Shunpo-ed to the fifth division barracks. When he arrived at the front door of his office, he was greeted by Minazawa, Tanaka and Mariko, who all had frantic expressions.  
"Captain, there's an urgent note here from the Commander!" Tanaka exclaimed.

"A note from Unohana-san?" Ichigo asked. He opened the note and had a look at it. As soon as he saw what it was about his eyes widened in shock.

"An assassination attempt on three if Seireitei's nobles? Which ones?"

"I believe they were the neutral councilors who gave their vote to the Urahara alliance at the last moment," Minazawa replied.

"I see," Ichigo pondered. "I feared something like this might happen. So the Laodemon-Julius camp are resorting to blackmail and treachery in an attempt to take control of the Council by force, after their legitimate attempts to get elected failed."

"What shall we do captain?" Mariko asked. "Do we send out an arrest warrant for the heads of the Laodemon and Julius clans?" Ichigo shook his head.

"No, leave them be. Arresting them would cause a schism amongst the nobility, which could lead to a civil war in Seireitei. Returning to military rule is the last thing I would want to see. I'll just speak to the Commander and request she provide the nobles in question with armed bodyguards, at least until President Urahara's inauguration is finished." With that, Ichigo dismissed his three division seats and went inside his office. He wasted no time in summoning a hell butterfly and recording a message to Commander Unohana.

Less than an hour later, Ichigo was back at the first division barracks, after Unohana responded to his message. The assassination threat against the nobles was so important all of the captains were summoned to an emergency meeting.

"I apologize for requesting you all at such short notice," Unohana addressed her fellow captains. "But the recent assassination attempt against three of Seireitei's nobles demands quick and immediate action. We cannot let anything threaten the peace of Soul Society that we have so fought so hard to achieve." Unohana's message was clearly understood by everyone.

"What shall we do to protect these nobles then?" Hitsugaya asked. "The people who ordered the assassination attempts might have wanted to eliminate whatever political influence they had."

"Which would have been considerable," Byakuya added. "Those three nobles are the ones whose votes allowed Urahara Kisuke to be elected President. The loss of their votes wound hand control of the Seireitei over to the Laodemon-Julius alliance." No one needed to say anything about the prospects of a council dominated by those two clans; the memories of the old Central 46 were enough to frighten all of the captains.

"If the votes of those nobles are so crucial, then there's little doubt who the perpetuators behind the assassination attempts are," Kensei said. "Clearly the Laodemons or the Juliuses sent hitman to kill them as a last ditch attempt to win control of the Council."

"Why don't we just send our forces in to arrest them all?" Kenpachi asked. "If they're wanting to seize power then the sooner they're dealt with the better." Kenpachi's proposal was received with mix responses. Half the captains were thinking about the same action, but the remaining half, including Ichigo, thought it was a bad idea.

"Kenpachi, military force is the last thing we should resort to," Isshin said. "We can't arrest the Laodemons and the Juliuses and hold them without charge like we used to. It would send the wrong message to the people of Soul Society; that rather than embrace the democratic spirit we've tried so hard to promote, the Gotei 13 chooses to impose martial law instead." Isshin's words were influential enough to convince even Kenpachi to rethink their views.

"Captain Shiba has expressed my own sentiments," Unohana said. "From now on, we cannot solve domestic problems by force unless a state of emergency is declared or the President himself has authorized us to do so. We can however provide the best protection possible so that the nobles will be safe from harm. Captain Fon, do you have available special forces operatives that can be deployed on indefinite bodyguard missions?"

"Of course, Commander," Soifon nodded. "I have just the right people for this sort of mission. They are of course well versed in the art of assassination themselves, so they are more than capable of countering any murder attempts."

"It is settled down. The second division's Onimitsukidou shall be in charge of protecting the nobles. In the meantime, this matter shall be kept as a secret amongst us captains. The less people who know about it the better." With that, Unohana ended the meeting.

Over the next few days there were more reported assassination attempts, but each of them was foiled by the special forces operatives. Eventually the attempts died down as the day of the inauguration arrived. On the morning of the fourth of July, Ichigo and the thirteen other captains gathered in front of the Western Meridian gate. Flanked by hundreds of other Shinigami and nobility, they waited calmly for the gate to open. In a dramatic scene, the gatekeeper Jidanbo lifted up the gate all the way. As he stood on the ground beside the moat, numerous people started walking through the archway created by his legs. The first ones to pass through the gate were representatives from the Rukongai districts but soon Ichigo could see Urahara, Kukaku and Ganju, along with their associates. In total around two dozen delegates from the Assembly entered Seireitei before the wall was brought down again.

"Are you ready to be President yet?" Ichigo asked Urahara with a grin on his face.

"I'm not sure. I won't know until I become one right?" Urahara smiled back. Ichigo saw Urahara walk up to Commander Unohana. The two of them bowed to one another.

"All the preparations have been made, Urahara," Unohana said. "Shall we start the ceremony?" Urahara nodded. He, the thirteen captains, Kukaku, Ganju, the members of the assembly and the Council of 46 nobles headed for the inner government buildings of Soul Society. The group entered the gate to the former Royal Palace and then spread out around the large circular pool in the middle of the Courtyard of Reflection. Ichigo and the other captains stood around the wall directly facing the circular platform in the middle of the pool. The councilors and representatives stood behind them and to the side. Urahara however, was directed to the platform in the middle. There, four of Soul Society's most esteemed judges and four priests of the Izanagi stood in a circular formation. Urahara was asked to stand in the middle of the circle, facing them.

Before the ceremony began, a gigantic screen rose out of the ground on the other end of the pool and then hovered in the air high enough so that everyone in the courtyard could see what was going on. Not only visuals but even sound was broadcast out as the voices of Urahara and the eight officials could clearly be heard.

"Urahara Kisuke, do you as the President of Soul Society, accept full responsibility for the welfare and wellbeing of the people?" the chief priest of Izanagi asked.

"I do," Urahara answered.

"Will you, as President of Soul Society, uphold the principles and laws of Soul Society as set down in the constitution?"

"I will."

"Are you, as President of Soul Society, determined to present the highest moral and ethical standards to your peers, the members of the Council and the Assembly, and the common citizens?"

"I am." Everyone standing the square held the breath for the upcoming moment as the chief official took out a large hardcover book and held it with both hands.

"By the grace of the Royal Family and the order set down in the constitution, I proclaim you, Urahara Kisuke, as President of Soul Society." When the official finished those words, loud applause erupted from the people gathered around the square. Ichigo and his fellow captains gave Urahara silent acknowledgement as he shook hands with the officials. Then, as he was left to stand in the centre of the pool alone, Urahara picked up a microphone and began to speak.

"Captains of the Gotei 13, Councilors of the Central 46, and Representatives of the Assembly, I am honored to serve as your President for the next four years," Urahara said into the microphone. "A lot of work has been done to reshape Soul Society, but a lot more work is needed. The lessons of the past, the memories of the conflict that has only recently ended, will never be forgotten, but it is time to move beyond them and embrace a new age. As much as some might wish it could happen, Soul Society can never return to the old days. Too much has been lost for it to ever be restored. Instead there is the prospect of an exciting and wonderful future beyond what any of us can imagine. Together as one we must forge ahead and attempt to shape that future to the best of our ability. I ask all of you, not as your leader, but merely a first amongst equals, to work with me." With that, Urahara finished his speech, and the crowd erupted into loud applause again. It was a short and succinct speech, but the meanings it conveyed were incredibly powerful.

The newly inaugurated President Urahara walked back along the platform and went to greet his long time friends.

"That was a nice speech, Kisuke," Kukaku said. "Did you write it yourself?"

"Of course I did," Urahara laughed. "I'd never let someone else write my own speeches."

"Heh, I thought so. Anyway, Ganju and I have to go back to the Assembly. Hope you have fun with the council." Kukaku, Ganju and the representatives of the Assembly bid farewell to Urahara and the captains as they were escorted out of the former palace grounds

"Well then, I suppose it is time to get to work!" Urahara exclaimed. The captains and councilors nodded, and as a group headed for the underground chambers.

"I don't see any of the Laodemons or Juliuses around," Urahara whispered to Ichigo as they walked down the stairs.

"That's because they've all decided to sulk and bide their time in the chamber hall," Ichigo replied with a grin.

"Does that mean they're still hoping to overthrow me and have Augustulus take my place?"

"Of course. Why else would they have ignored official protocol?"

"I see. I guess seeing my face will be one hell of a surprise for them eh?" Urahara laughed. Ichigo and the nearby captains found it amusing as well. The group as a whole finally made it to the inner chamber where the Council of 46 sat. True to Ichigo's prediction, nearly half the council seats were already occupied, all of them belonging to the Laodemon-Julius alliance and their supporters. As soon as Priam and Aurelian saw Urahara their eyes widened in shock.

"Why the expressions, Councilor Priam and Councilor Aurelian?" Urahara asked in a formal tone of voice. "Are you surprised to see me?" Priam and Aurelian said nothing, but glared at Urahara and the captains. It was apparent that there was no chance for them to gain control of the council now. After Ichigo and the other councilors got to their seats, Urahara stood in the platform in the centre and addressed them all.

"I'll be brief with what I have to say," he said. "I do not claim to exert any authority over the council, but all of you should know by now that a President requires ministers to serve him administer the executive. My Vice-President, Shiba Ganju, is taking care of the appointments in the Assembly, but for the appointments in the council, I shall request the services of the captains of the Gotei 13. Their duties as military officers maybe over for the short term, but their knowledge and dedication to Soul Society and Seireitei in particular are still highly valued. That is why I am appointing them to be my ministers for the administration of Soul Society."

Several of the nobles in the Laodemon/Julius camp moaned, but the announcement surprised few people. Ichigo and the other captains had seen it coming. They welcomed Urahara's move. After a short session in which the council validated Urahara's inauguration again, the thirteen captains accompanied Urahara to a private room adjacent to the council chambers. There was a long oval table with fourteen chairs, and a large television screen on the opposite end of the room. After everyone sat down, Commander Unohana motioned Mayuri to turn on the screen. In a flash there was interactive windows showing all sorts of information about Soul Society.

"Thank you Kurotsuchi-san," Urahara looked at Mayuri. "Would you like to start first or shall I do it, Unohana-san?"

"Go ahead Kisuke," Unohana replied. Urahara took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"So, how do you all feel about not being captains anymore?" he asked everyone else. "I know officially the Gotei 13's command structure is still operating but for all intents and purposes you're all civilians now. Have any of you thought about what you want to do?" Urahara's question sounded bizarre to a lot of the captains who were not used to the sudden change in his manner from formal to informal. The question itself was also quite confusing, since the idea of abandoning their duties was something that few of the captains in the room had thought about. For a while there was a deep silence, as no one dare to speak up. Finally, Ichigo decided to take the lead.

"Well, since I'm already the headmaster of the Shinigami Academy, I'll continue serving in that role," Ichigo said. "All of my subordinates can easily be reassigned as teachers and instructors."

"An excellent idea Kurosaki-san," Urahara smiled. He and Ichigo has already discussed about it before hand. "Anyone else want to put up their suggestions? I'd hate to assign you positions by myself."

"Uh, Urahara, I think it would be better if our division remained in full operation," Tessai said. "The Soul Society still needs healers not only to cover Seireitei but to treat the people of Rukongai as well. Plus, our barracks can easily be turned into a general hospital."

"Good suggestion Tessai-san. Field nurses and doctors can easily be trained to become civilian nurses and doctors, so I don't see why the fourth division can't continue running Soul Society's medical system. Does anyone else have existing civilian duties they wish to keep?" Urahara saw Unohana, Soifon and Mayuri put their hands up.

"I think I should stay in my role as the commander of the armed forces of Soul Society," Unohana said. "Even in peace time, it is best if there is an active military force available."

"That's fine with me. You'll always be the acting Commander in Chief in my view," Urahara said. "How about I make you in charge of the defense department?" Unohana was delighted at Urahara's suggestion. She sat down and motioned to Soifon to stand up. It soon became apparent to Urahara that Soifon still had feelings for him, as he hesitated to look at him directly.

"Since the second division already controls the Onimitsukidou, I can easily switch all of my soldiers into their roles as special agents," Soifon said. "What do you think Urahara-san?"

"You think I would shut down the special forces Soifon?" Urahara laughed. "Why would I do that? The Onimitsukidou is still a vital part of the government." Soifon blushed and quickly sat down. The attention was now turned to Mayuri, who stared at Urahara.

"I probably know what you're going to say, but I just want to let you know that the Research and Development Institute was your idea," Mayuri stated in a plain tone. "The scientists that are working for me are still made up of criminals and loonies you freed from the Maggots Nest all those years ago." The other captains looked at Mayuri nervously, since most of them were aware that Mayuri himself was once a long-time inmate of the Maggot's Nest who was also freed by Urahara.

"Ah, you read my mind too well Kurotsuchi-san," Urahara laughed again. "It'd be stupid if I closed down my own creation wouldn't it?" Mayuri nodded and calmly sat down again. The pressure was on the remaining captains now, since most of the previously running bureaucratic structures had already been taken.

"I will be responsible for overseeing the laws and regulations of Soul Society," Byakuya said. "Since the Council of 46 are no longer the judges of Soul Society, an entirely new judicial system will have to be created from scratch."

"Good idea Captain Kuchiki," Urahara said. "You're most suited to dispensing the law of Soul Society. I'll make you in charge of the Judiciary then."

"The same goes for the communication systems of Soul Society," Hitsugaya said. "Even if the Gotei 13 is no longer on active duty, the hell butterfly and soul pager network should still remain in operation. Although there wasn't a division formally in charge of those operations, the tenth division was generally assigned to manage them." Urahara agreed to Hitsugaya's request and assigned him his role as the minister for communications. By this point, all of the positions and duties which previously existed in Soul Society had now been taken.

"The rest look like you're having trouble thinking of new titles," Urahara said. "Shall I give you all suggestions?"

"What are you talking about Urahara?" Kensei asked. "Me, Rose, and Love have been in the real world as long as you have, and three of us are also familiar with the governments over there. Just before the Inauguration I was speaking to my Lieutenant who gave me a good idea: the ninth division has generally been responsible for making the Seireitei newspapers. Its role can easily be expanded to cover all forms of media and entertainment in Soul Society. After all, you're going to need to find stuff to put on those tvs that you're selling in Karakura Cho."

"Hmm…you've got me there Kensei-san," Urahara said. "I'll let you be in charge of the media then." Kensei accepted Urahara's offer and then grinned at Rose and Love, who were still thinking of what they should do. Then the same idea came to both of their minds.

"Hey Urahara, we've heard about the mass transporation system and infrastructure projects you were constructing prior to the election," Love said. "Now that you're President, who's in charge of them?" Love's question stumped Urahara, who until now had totally forgotten about them. _Oh shit, I asked Kukaku to manage them both!_ Images of hideous buildings suddenly came into his mind.

"Ahahaha, how stupid of me," he said. "If you hadn't brought it up I would have totally forgotten about my pet projects. Very well then the two of you can be in charge of building and running them." Rose and Love nodded and agreed to share the responsibilities between them. Now only three captains remained, Isshin, Renji and Kenpachi. Isshin was the first captain to speak.

"I have an idea Kisuke. Why don't I be in charge of handling the relations with the real world?" Isshin asked. "The human governments are eventually going to know about ghosts and spirits, given everything that has happened in the last few months."

"You just want an excuse to go on a holiday like you son did," Urahara stated bluntly. Isshin started blushing heavily, causing the other captains to laugh at him. "I'm okay with that. Your division can be the ambassadors to the real world governments." Within Isshin's role settled, only Renji and Kenpachi had yet to decide. Renji was the first to speak up.

"I've been thinking Urahara-san, and it came to me that there's always been a problem with finding housing for the spirits that are sent here from the real world," Renji said. "There must be numerous families who have died and then subsequently been separated upon arrival in Rukongai. It would be better if someone was in charge of providing welfare services to them." The other captains, but especially Ichigo, were surprised by Renji's idea, since few of them had ever thought about that problem before. Urahara thought it was a brilliant suggestion and so Renji was made the minister of welfare and housing. Now, all the focus was on Kenpachi. Noticeably aware that the others were looking at him, Kenpachi started panicking, since he actually hadn't thought of anything yet.

"Um, I'm not quite sure what I should do really," he confessed. "My men are all too dumb to handle anything as complex as the stuff the rest of you have suggested. But then without constant combat, they'll get bored and lazy and start fighting amongst themselves. As a division completely specialized with fighting, is there a way to allow them to continue using their swords?" Urahara pondered a bit, since the problem of finding what duty to assign the eleventh division to was problematic.

"May I suggest an idea?" Ichigo asked Urahara. "Perhaps Kenpachi's division can be assigned as patrol officers for the Rukongai districts. Most of them come from Rukongai anyway, plus a lot of the outer districts are quite lawless since there's no one to enforce the laws there."

"That's an excellent suggestion Kurosaki-san," Urahara nodded. He then turned to Kenpachi. "Well Captain Zaraki, are you willing to let your men become the police of Rukongai?"

"Sure, why not? My boys would probably relish going back to Rukongai again," Kenpachi grinned. "And this way they'll still get to keep their swords with them." At last, all of the captains had now been assigned civilian duties separate from their roles as military officers. Before the meeting ended, Urahara requested them to all start preparing their divisions for reassignment as government departments.

"Wow, that was some meeting wasn't it Ichigo?" Renji asked as the two of them walked out of the underground chambers.

"Urahara's adjusting to his role as President faster than I ever anticipated," Ichigo said.

"It's going to be unusual for us to all become civil servants. To be honest, I don't know what I was thinking when I took up this job of caring for the average citizens."

"You'll do fine Renji," Ichigo said. "It's not like we're giving up our roles as officers. We'll still have our men serving under us. Besides, other than during war time, there's not much point for the Gotei 13 to be on active duty." Renji was silent for a moment, before he looked at Ichigo again.

"I guess you're right." The of them exited the former royal compound and went their separate ways. Instead of returning to the barracks, Ichigo decided to head for home instead. An hour or so later he was at the front door of the Shiba Manor, where he was greeted by Rukia again.

"How did the inauguration go?" Rukia asked.

"It was great. Urahara's got the hang of his new job," Ichigo replied. "But most importantly of all, you and I will have a lot more time to be with each other."

"How come?" Before Ichigo answered Rukia's question, he swept her off her feet and carried her inside the house and all the way to their bedroom upstairs.

"Hey, careful Ichigo, you almost hurt the babies!" Rukia scolded him.

"Sorry about that," Ichigo felt Rukia's tummy and listened to the sounds of their unborn children. "As I was saying before, now that I don't have to attend to military duties, I probably won't have to go to the barracks that often. The Academy should do fine without me going there everyday."

"That's good to know Ichigo," Rukia smiled. "There's something I want to tell you as well."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked. Rukia placed her mouth close to his ears.

"Nanao and Byakuya are going to get married," she whispered.

* * *

Notes: Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter up. I didn't have much time to write for the first three days, and the chapter proved harded to write than expected. The scene with Urahara and the captains turned out far longer than I had imagined, and as a result I had to cut out a lot of additional scenes I planned on including. Some of those scenes will appear in some fashion in the next chapter, but the rest might either not be shown or else they'll turn up in the next chapter of Shinigami Academy.


	8. Chapter 8: A Kuchiki Wedding

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: The first general elections for Soul Society produces a dramatic victory for Urahara, Ganju and Ichigo's alliance. The Laodemon and Julius clans are not willing to meekly accept the result, for within days of the win the few neutral nobles whose support decided the struggle for the Council of 46 were threatened with assassination attempts. Ichigo and the other captains quickly responded to the threats. When the day of the inauguration arrived, it proceeded with few hitches. Urahara was sworn in as President and quickly made his mark felt on the government by summoning all of the captains to a special round table meeting. The meeting resulted in the final transformation of the Gotei 13 divisions into civilian departments as each captain nominated a peace time role then wanted to perform. Shortly after the meeting, Ichigo gets a surprising piece of news from Rukia-the upcoming wedding of Byakuya and Nanao...

* * *

Chapter 8: A Kuchiki Wedding

"Byakuya and Nanao are getting married?" Ichigo asked in surprise. "Since when were they a couple?"

"Baka, they've had had feelings for each other ever since Nanao became Nii-sama's lieutenant," Rukia replied. "Nii-sama helped Nanao get over Captain Kyoraku's death after all, and though neither them admitted it, Lisa-san told me the two of them would go out on private walks together. It's only in the past few months now that they've seriously considered marriage."

"Why would they plan on marrying now when if they've held off on it for some time?"

"I think it's partly a political move made by Nii-sama. He was worried about the influence posed by the Laodemon and Julius clans and was concerned by the fact that he was the Kuchiki clan had yet to produce an heir. If Nii-sama were to die, the Kuchiki clan would effectively cease to exist. In addition, I've heard that Nanao-san had been officially adopted into the Kyoraku family by her late captain, so if Nii-sama married her, he'd secure the alliance between the two families permanently."

"And possibly produce offspring that could inherit the title," Ichigo pondered. "It's a wise move on his part, perhaps on par with our marriage." Rukia suddenly slapped in the face.

"A wise move? Is that all our marriage means to you?" Rukia scolded him angrily.

"Of course not, Rukia," Ichigo pretended to smile. "I was half joking about it. Anyway I'm sure Byakuya and Nanao love each other as much as you and I do."

"The wedding takes place a week from now, in the Kuchiki flower garden," Rukia said. "Apparently Lisa-san is going to be the bridesmaid and Renji's the best man."

"Ahahaha, Renji is the best man again?" Ichigo laughed. "He seems to be quite the popular choice for that role. So, how many quests are going to be invited?"

"Only about two dozen at most. Nii-sama doesn't want this to become as highly publicized as our wedding was," Rukia said. "So it's pretty much just going to be us, your family, the Kyorakus, the greater Kuchiki family and Lisa and Renji."

"I see. Well then, I guess we better start preparing for the wedding ceremony starting from now. Are you sure you'll be alright to intend?" Ichigo asked. He looked at Rukia's baby bulge again.

"Of course I will. I can still walk on my own two feet," Rukia said. "And I'll ask some of Nii-sama's tailors to make me a special dress for me." With that, Ichigo and Rukia stopped discussing their plans for Byakuya and Nanao's wedding for now, but over the coming days they still thought about the event deeply.

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia were not the only ones who started talking about the upcoming wedding. The news inevitably reached the ears of the Shinigami Women's Association.

"What? Nanao-chan is getting married?" the collective voices of nearly all the women asked in disbelief upon hearing the news from Yachiru.

"Yep, the vice-president is going to be hitched the same way Rukia-san did," Yachiru smiled.

"Where's Nanao now? We definitely need to send her flowers and hugs!" Matsumoto exclaimed.

"She's currently keeping quiet with Captain Kuchiki right now," Mashiro pointed out. "Lisa-san's with her too. I heard from her that they don't want us interfering with their affairs for the moment."

"Really? That's kind of disappointing," Isane said. "It would have been interesting if Nanao told us how she fell in love with Captain Kuchiki."

"Isane, don't you think that question is inappropriate?" Kiyone asked.

"I don't think so," Nemu. "Hearing about other people's romantic stories is one of the most touching things a woman can listen to." The other girls looked at Nemu strangely.

"Enough chatter everyone! Let's just keep this matter to ourselves for now," Yachiru yelled out. "If the vice-president doesn't want us to know, then we should leave her alone." Like Ichigo and Rukia, the Shinigami Women's Association decided not to discuss about the wedding in public. Some of the girls couldn't resist spreading the news though. As soon as they returned to their division quarters, Matsumoto and Hinamori inevitably broke the news to their captain.

"Taicho, have you heard? Captain Kuchiki and his lieutenant are getting married!" Matsumoto yelled excitedly at her captain's face. Hitsugaya simply yawned.

"So what? I don't give a damn about their wedding." Hitsugaya said. "I bet it's one of those noble affairs where other people aren't invited." Matsumoto was disappointed by her captain's deadpan attitude and started sulking around.

"If Nanao can get married so easily then why can't I?" Matsumoto asked herself. "She's only known her captain for like, half a year at most."

"Rangiku, you aren't thinking of marrying Toshiro-chan are you?" Hinamori said in slight outrage. "You wouldn't be a good match for him."

"That's not true! Taicho and I have been close to each other ever since he became captain," Matsumoto objected. "He's shown as much feelings for me as he does for you."

"I bet he doesn't! Toshiro-chan and I have been friends ever since we were young kids!" Hinamori shouted. Caught in the middle of a slinging match between two women who were both desperately in love with him, Hitsugaya didn't know how to respond at all. _Geez, if this keeps up, Matsumoto and Momo-chan are going to drive me insane,_ he thought to himself. After a few minutes, the two girls stopped arguing with each other and suddenly turned to face their captain.

"Taicho, Hinamori and I have decided to let you choose between us-who do you love more?" Matsumoto asked. Her questions caused Hitsugaya to spew out the tea he was drinking. He thought they were joking, but when he saw how serious they looked he became incredibly nervous.

"Eh, um, I don't know what to say," he stuttered. "Even if I were to pick between the two of you, I have no intention of ever getting married." His response so shocked Matsumoto and Hinamori that they both fainted on the spot. Hitsugaya was about to help them up, but suddenly realized the complications of doing so. _How do I know they're not faking it? Whoever I touch first could possibly be the person I love the most…_he thought. _Geez, why are women so frustrating?_

* * *

Word of the Kuchiki wedding had also reached the ears of the Laodemon and Julius clans, despite the best efforts of Ichigo and Byakuya to keep the event a secret.

"Damn, this is the worst thing that could have happened!" Priam slammed his fist down onto a table. He and Aurelian had once again retreated to their secret villa in East Rukongai, in order to plan their next moves. Accompanying the two of them were Priam's wife Medea and Aurelian's brother Augustulus.

"Maybe Kuchikis responded to the thinly veiled threats we threw at them with this shrewd political move," Aurelian suggested.

"Shrewd political move? As if! I bet Kuchiki Byakuya took the words I spoke to him at the gathering of nobles to heart," Priam said, seething with rage.

"Darling, what exactly did you say to him?" Medea asked.

"Nothing much, I just commented about the state of the Kuchiki clan, and how low it had fallen. I never imagined that Kuchiki Byakuya would go to such lengths to restore his reputation."

"A marriage between the Kuchiki clan and the Kyoraku clan would certainly be a huge blow to us," Aurelian said. "The Kyorakus are only slightly below the five great noble families and the name of their favourite son, Shunsui, still carries a lot of weight."

"What do you suggest we do then, Priam-san?" Augustulus asked. "The Kuchikis and the Shibas are working with that despicable Urahara and controlling the Seireitei."

"No thanks to your incompetent efforts!" Priam barked at Augustulus. "In any case, we can do nothing but wait to see what effect the marriage has upon the political situation in the council. It would be far too risky to make a move now, not with Urahara Kisuke's current popularity."

"I'm surprised by your timidity Priam," Aurelian smirked. "Wouldn't staging an assassination attempt against Kuchiki Byakuya or his wife be a good move?" Priam shook his head.

"The Gotei 13 seem to have caught onto our involvement in the assassination attempts on the three neutral councilors, even if they did not take any action. If we threatened the Kuchiki family, the thirteen captains would not hesitate to employ all of their military might and crush us. For now, we have little choice but to bide our time. The President's term will eventually come to an end of course, and at that point new elections will be held. At point we have a chance of overthrowing the current regime and installing our own."

"That still means we have to endure the next few years of complete dominance by the Shibas and Kuchikis," Aurelian sighed. "I was hoping we could at least do something to sabotage the system." Aurelian's point caused something to click in Priam's mind.

"Wait a minute, we can do something to sabotage the system," he grinned evilly. "We may not be able to move against the Council or the Assembly but we can certainly try to discredit the new bureaucratic departments. Kurosaki's Ichigo academy is one of the juiciest targets. If all of those students can be brainwashed to our cause, then we can overthrow the Gotei 13 from within!"

"That is a brilliant idea!" Augustulus clapped his hands in applause.

"But will put so much pressure on Paris and Helena," Medea complained. "They are going to shoulder the burden to execute all of this."

"No need to worry, my beloved Medea, our children will do us proud," Priam said.

* * *

Whatever the machinations of the Laodemon and the Julius clans were, they did not reach the ears of the Shiba and Kuchiki families. Seven days had passed since Ichigo first heard the news of Byakuya and Nanao's wedding, and now the day of the wedding had arrived.

Ichigo woke up early and started trawling through the wardrobe for his noble garments. He searched everywhere inside the cavernous bedroom closet but his black kimono, hakama and haori were nowhere to be found.

"Hey Rukia, where did you put my special occasions clothing?" he asked.

"They're hanging on the clothesline outside!" Rukia responded from the bathroom. "I knew you were going to be wearing them so I had them washed and rinsed."

"Ah you could have told me earlier," Ichigo complained. He went down the stairs to the ground floor. Upon reaching the clothesline in the outside garden he found his clothes hanging from the line, all dry but with tons of creases.

"Geez, Rukia could have done a better job straightening them out," Ichigo sighed. He wasted no time in putting them on. When he went upstairs again he saw that Rukia was still in the bathroom. He tapped gently on the door.

"What are you doing in there Rukia?" Ichigo asked. "We have less than an hour to get to Byakuya's house."

"I know that Ichigo!" Rukia shouted out. "But I can't rush the way I am. Besides, I've already finished washing myself and I'm getting changed now."

"Alright, you can try to speed it up," Ichigo said. "I'll be waiting for you down below." He walked down to the kitchen and got himself something to eat. Ten minutes later he heard Rukia's footsteps and turned around to look. He was surprised by her outfit. She was wearing a very loose kimono with oversized sleeves that completely covered her arms. The kimono was so large that her baby bump was barely visible. Her hair was bunched up in a hair clip, whilst her eyes and lips all had extensive make-up applied.

"Is this the dress that Byakuya's tailors made for you?" Ichigo asked. Rukia nodded.

"What's with that look? It was the most suitable design they could find. I don't my baby bump to be that visible," Rukia said. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. The two of them got their possessions ready and headed out of the manor.

With Rukia now deep into her pregnancy, Ichigo couldn't carry her on his back and Shunpo all the way there. They had no choice but to walk the whole distance to the Kuchiki Manor. Fortunately for Rukia the distance between the two manors was much less than she imagined. Within twenty minutes she and Ichigo made it to the front of the manor. As usual the gates of the manor were guarded by several sixth division members. When they saw Ichigo and Rukia they quickly rushed to open the gate.

"Captain Kurosaki, Lieutenant Kuchiki, we are honored by your presence," the guards said enthusiastically. "Please head inside. Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Ise are waiting for you." Ichigo and Rukia thanked the guards as they headed through the gate. They walked through the lush gardens and ponds of the manor grounds before arriving at the verandah of the main building. Before Rukia or Ichigo could enter inside, Rukia was suddenly hugged by her aunt in law, Kuchiki Kisara, a very plump and jovial woman with silver hair.

"Rukia-chan, it's been so long since I've seen you!" Kisara cried out. "I've missed you!"

"Um, aunt Kisara-san, don't squeeze so hard," Rukia squirmed. "You're pressing hard against my belly." Kisara stopped hugging Rukia when she realized she was hurting her unborn children.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't notice your baby bump. How many months have you been pregnant?"

"Um, about six months or so," Rukia replied. Kisara was surprised.

"My, my, time sure does fly fast," she laughed. "Anyway, we can catch up on our discussion later. I'm sure you and your husband are keen on meeting Byakuya-sama and his bride to be."

Kisara led Ichigo and Rukia into the house and through the numerous corridors and passages until they finally arrived at Byakuya's main suite.

"Byakuya-sama, Kurosaki-sama and Rukia chan are here!" Kisara called out in her loudest voice. A moment later a slightly displeased Byakuya opened the door.

"Could you refrain from shouting that loud, Aunt Kisara?" Byakuya asked. Kisara bowed in embarrassment, before heading to her rooms. Byakuya motioned to Ichigo and Rukia to enter his room.

"How are you feeling Rukia?" Byakuya asked.

"I'm well, Nii-sama," Rukia replied. "Um, do you mind me asking where Nanao is?"

"She is currently getting her kimono done by Yadomaru Lisa and my tailors in the dressing room. If you wish so I grant you permission to see her right now."

"Thank you, Nii-sama," Rukia bowed and got up from the floor.

"Hey, don't run so fast Rukia!" Ichigo called out. But Rukia was soon out of his sight. He sighed a bit before turning to face Byakuya, who was dressed in the clothes of the 'True Fist', the head of the Kuchiki house.

"You're looking more grandiose than usual, Byakuya," Ichigo teased.

"I could say the same thing about you, Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya answered back with a wry smile. Their banter was interrupted by Renji, who suddenly barged into the room without warning.

"Yo Ichigo, I heard you had come," Renji said. "Does that mean Rukia is here with you?"

"Eh, yeah," Ichigo said, still taken aback by Renji's entrance.

"What did I tell you about entering my living quarters without common courtesy, Renji?" Byakuya said to Renji, giving him the cold stare Renji had feared so often when he was still lieutenant.

"I'm so sorry Captain Kuchiki, I didn't mean to bother you like that," Renji bowed in embarrassment. He calmly walked away, leaving Byakuya and Ichigo alone again.

"Well then, Renji's arrival means that most of the guests are here already," Byakuya said. "Shall we go and greet them, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Ichigo nodded, and followed Byakuya out of his living quarters. They walked to the outside living area, where nearly a dozen people had gathered. Among the guests were Ichigo's father Isshin and his sisters Yuzu and Karin.

"Onii-chan!" the twin sisters both shouted out as soon as they saw Ichigo.

"Aren't the two of you supposed to be at the Academy?" Ichigo asked.

"It's the mid year holidays, Onii-chan," Yuzu replied. "You expect us to stay there all the time?" Ichigo laughed at Yuzu's response. He then looked at Isshin, who appeared to be looking for something.

"What are you searching for, old man?" Ichigo asked.

"For Rukia-chan of course!" Isshin replied in an enthusiastic manner. "I wanted to see how she was doing.

"Rukia is currently with Nanao and Lisa," Ichigo's response caused his father to mope in disappointment. Ichigo didn't have time to laugh at Isshin, for another group of people caught his attention. They were all dressed in flamboyant robes and kimonos and some of them wore elaborate hats upon their heads.

"Are they the Kyoraku family?" Ichigo whispered to Isshin.

"Yep, all of them have the same fashion sense as Shunsui did," Isshin grinned. Ichigo went to greet them politely. The Kyorakus, Ichigo's family and Byakuya and his uncle all waited in the outdoor living room for Nanao, Rukia and Lisa to come out. During that time all of them drank tea or sake and had random talk with each other. Eventually, the Kuchiki servants came rushing out to tell them that Nanao, Rukia and Lisa were coming out.

"It's about time they were done," Ichigo said. Byakuya ordered all of the guests to head to the outdoor shrine, where two priests of the Spirit King Izanagi were already waiting.

"Kuchiki Byakuya-sama, are you ready to begin the ceremony?" one of the priests asked. Byakuya nodded. The invited guests were instructed sit down the seats provided as they waited for the bride and bridesmaids to arrive. Byakuya and Renji however, stood on the upraised podium in front of the shrine altar.

Several minutes later, Rukia arrived at the shrine and quickly sat down on a seat beside Ichigo.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be with Nanao and Lisa?" Ichigo asked.

"Nah, Lisa-san's taking care of everything," Rukia replied. "I was really only there to see Nanao getting dressed and catching up on discussion."

"Is that so? How typical of you," Ichigo sighed. "Well then, when are Nanao and Lisa going to appear?"

"They're coming right now!" Rukia exclaimed excitedly. She gestured with her hand. Ichigo turned around and saw four women appear from behind. Two of them were Kuchiki handmaidens. The third was Lisa, who was dressed in a plain kimono. The final figure was Nanao, whose appearance elicited gasps from nearly everyone, even Byakuya himself. Dressed in a shimmering blue and white kimono and with her head partially covered by a veil, Nanao looked every inch like a princess. The most notable feature about her was the absence of her glasses, as Nanao had chosen to wear contacts instead.

Seeing Nanao walk elegantly towards him down the garden aisle made Byakuya smile happily. He recalled the fond memories of his wedding with Hisana, and hoped that this moment would surpass it. As Nanao and Lisa stepped onto the podium, they stood beside Byakuya and Renji and faced the two priests, with Lisa and Renji standing behind Byakuya and Nanao.

"Are the two of you ready to begin the ceremony?" one of the priests asked. Byakuya and Nanao both nodded. A gong was sounded and all of the guests were ordered to stand.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, do you swear to serve as a loving and loyal husband to your beloved, Ise Nanao, for as long as your souls are in existence?" the priest asked.

"I do," Byakuya nodded. The priest then turned to Nanao.

"Ise Nanao, do you swear to be a dutiful and faithful wife to Kuchiki Byakuya for as long as your souls are in existence?"

"I do," Nanao nodded.

"You may now exchange the betrothal gifts," the other priest ordered. From their position three rows from the podium, neither Ichigo nor Rukia could see the gifts that Byakuya and Nanao were exchanging. The exchange was complete within a few minutes, after which the priests allowed Byakuya and Nanao to embrace each other. This triggered a spontaneous applause from all of the guests. The priests then ordered Byakuya and Nanao to kneel down on the pair of cushions in front of them, as eight Miko maidens, made up of servants from the Kuchiki and Kyoraku families, walked up to the podium, each one carrying various cups and jugs of sake. Byakuya and Nanao exchanged cups with each other, starting with the smallest cup before finishing with the largest. Their immediate family members were then requested to exchange cups of sake facing each other.

After the drinking of the tea was over, the two priests ordered Byakuya and Nanao to accompany them through a secret passage at the rear of the podium. Ichigo, Rukia and all of the other guests knew that they were going to offer blessings to Izanagi. About ten minutes later, the two priests emerged from the passage, followed by a very happy looking Byakuya and Nanao. Upon seeing them, Ichigo, Rukia and all of the other people who had been invited broke into loud applause again. The newlyweds walked back to the main house, but not before Nanao threw a bouquet of flowers into the air, causing all of the flower maidens to scramble over it.

Half an hour later, all of the family members and friends of Byakuya and Nanao were invited to a lavish lunchtime meal which was held in the Kuchiki clan's central dining room. Byakuya, Nanao, Byakuya's aunt and uncle, and the heads of the Kyoraku clan sat around the large table in the middle. Ichigo, Rukia, Isshin, Yuzu and Karin sat at a table to the left of them main table, whilst Renji, Lisa, and other Kuchiki clan members at a table to the right. Soon numerous waiters came out with trays featuring sumptuous dishes that were placed around each table. Everyone wasted no time in digging into them.

"Do you think Byakuya and Nanao will go on a honeymoon like we did?" Ichigo brought up a question as he and his family ate.

"Who knows?" Rukia shrugged. "I highly doubt Nii-sama would want to take a dangerous trip through the real world like we did."

"I wouldn't be so sure to rule it out," Isshin said. "Byakuya was quite the adventurer back in his younger days. He may take Nanao to visit some of the wonderful locations in the real world the two of you missed out on."

"Or they'll simply go on a tour around Rukongai," Ichigo said.

"Either way, I have a feeling Nii-sama is happier now than he has ever been since he was married to Hisana," Rukia smiled. From his vantage point, it appeared to Ichigo that Rukia's words were correct. It was rare enough for Byakuya to express emotions other than stoicism, so for Ichigo to see him beaming with happiness was a tad unusual.

_Heh, I bet he's going to enjoy this for a long while to come_, Ichigo thought to himself.

* * *

Notes: Byakuya and Nanao being the second married couple, I bet very few people would have seen it coming. This was a surprisingly easy chapter for me to write, as it had a lot of parallels with Ichigo and Rukia's wedding in Bleach After the War. Long time readers may also note that I've thrown in hints of more shipping couples with the love triangle between Hitsugaya, Hinamori and Matsumoto. Unfortunately, I'm not going to go into much detail with that one, as I think it should be left ambiguous. :)


	9. Chapter 9: Cry of the Pantera

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* * *

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Bleach Fanstory:

**The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: After the inauguration of Urahara Kisuke as President of Soul Society, Kuchiki Byakuya and his lieutenant Ise Nanao announced their intention to marry. In the following two weeks their relatives and friends made their preparations for the ceremony. On the day of the wedding, the ceremony proceeded without interruption and with the blessing of the priests of Izanagi, Byakuya and Nanao were married, sealing the union between the Kuchikis and Nanao's adopted family, the Kyorakus...

* * *

Chapter 9: Cry of the Pantera

After Byakuya and Nanao's wedding, the following two months saw the gradual transformation of the thirteen Shinigami divisions into full fledged civilian bureaucracies. Ichigo started taking his role as headmaster of the Academy more seriously and actively got involved in its daily management. The other division captains also adjusted to their roles as civil servants, although some like Unohana, Tessai and Soifon continued to have military roles. Having been outsmarted in the election and subsequent political struggles, the Laodemon and Julius clans gave up their assassination attempts. Peace seemed to have to come to Soul Society at last. However, this peace was to be broken in the most dramatic way possible…

"Man I'm tired," a guard from the eleventh division yawned. The eleventh division had been reassigned as the police force of Rukongai, patrolling the three hundred and twenty districts.

"Here, a bit of sake will keep you awake," a fellow eleventh division member, Aramaki Makizo, handed the first guard a jug from his belt.

"No thanks, I've already pissed from drinking too much of it."

"Ha, ha, ha, your tolerance is pathetic!" Makizo, also known as Maki-Maki, laughed at his comrade. The two of them were patrolling an area of Karakura Cho that was rather infamous- the streets near the former Kurosaki clinic that had been the site of the first Arrancar invasion. Most of the houses in the vicinity were already occupied by Rukongai citizens. Hence there was a greater concentration of Shinigami guards in this district than in the rest of the city.

Just as Maki-Maki and his friend were about to head into the convenience door around the corner, an enormous spiritual pressure appeared in the sky above. The two Shinigami looked up and saw a garganta slowly opening up. Standing in the middle of the giant tear in the sky was a familiar teal-haired arrancar.

"What the hell, I thought this place was destroyed," former Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegarjaquez said as he descended to the ground. He landed directly in front of an absolutely terrified Maki-Maki and his friend. Before the two Shinigami could react, Grimmjow grabbed Maki-Maki by the throat.

"Listen up, Shinigami, if you don't want to die, tell me where Kurosaki Ichigo is," Grimmjow is.

"The captain of the fifth division? What business do you have with him?" Maki-maki asked.

"I want to kill him!!" Grimmjow shouted. Maki-maki's friend suddenly made a run for it, but Grimmjow disintegrated him with a cero that also blew up two nearby houses. The display of power so horrified Maki-maki that he literally defecated his pants.

"Uh, okay, I'll tell you where he is! Just please don't kill me!" Maki-maki cried for mercy. "He either stays at the fifth division barracks, or he's at the Shinigami Academy. Other than that I don't know much about him." Grimmjow threw Maki-maki onto the ground in frustration.

"Tch, he's locked away in that city eh?" he said to himself. "Alright then, go and tell Kurosaki Ichigo to come to the front gates of Las Noches by tomorrow. Tell him that Grimmjow Jaegarjaquez is waiting for him. If he does not come I shall return here and kill everyone in this city!" With that Grimmjow headed back to the garganta, closing it behind him. Maki-maki was left to wallow on the ground, both terrified at what he had experienced and relieved that he was still alive.

A few minutes later, another Shinigami came running over. It was the third seat of the fourth division, Yamada Hanatarou.

"Hey, what happened here?" Hanatarou asked a still quivering Maki-maki. "It looks like a huge explosion happened and-is that a dead body over there?" Maki-maki hastily grabbed Hanatarou's shirt.

"Please, take me to see the Commander at once," he begged Hanatarou.

* * *

Early next morning, Ichigo was woken up at the Shiba Manor by a knock on the front door. For the last two months he had spent more time with Rukia as her baby bump swelled even further. He kissed a still sleeping Rukia on the cheek before heading downstairs again.

"Who could be asking for me at this time of the day?" Ichigo asked himself as he opened the door. He was surprised to see a messenger from the second division's secret remote squad.

"Captain Kurosaki, the Commander has called an urgent meeting of all captains right away," the messenger said.

"Unohana-san's called a meeting? Tell her I'll be there right away," Ichigo said. After the messenger disappeared, Ichigo quickly got dressed in his Shihakusho and haori and Shunpo-ed to the first division barracks. Upon entering the office, he saw the other captains and Unohana, along with two other figures. One was Hanatarou from the fourth division; the other was some grunt from the eleventh division he had seen once before.

"At last you've come, Captain Kurosaki," Unohana said. "This meeting today especially concerns you."

"This meeting concerns me? What exactly happened?" Ichigo asked. Unohana motioned to the eleventh division grunt, Aramaki Makizo, to speak.

"Last night, my drinking buddy and I were patrolling the Sakura Bashi sector of Karakura Cho when all of a sudden an arrancar appeared out of nowhere and attacked us. He grabbed me by the throat and fired some sort of beam that killed my friend and blew up half the street!"

"Can you tell me what he looked like?" Ichigo asked. Maki-maki nodded.

"He was of medium build, had bluish hair, a broken mask fragment around his right jaw and a hollow hole in his stomach." Maki-maki's description shocked Ichigo to the core of his body.

"Did he say anything to you?" Maki-maki nodded.

"He told me to send you a message: that you have to come to the front gates of Las Noches by the end of today or else he'll come back and kill everyone in Karakura Cho. He told me his name but I was so terrified that I couldn't remember it." Maki-maki suddenly broke down into a sobbing fit. Unohana ordered Hanatarou to take him away.

"Well then, do you know who this arrancar is, Captain Kurosaki?" Unohana asked.

"It's Grimmjow," Ichigo said. "The former Sexta Espada who survived the Arrancar war."

"Wasn't he the one who assisted us in escaping Hueco Mundo after Aizen trapped us there?" Kenpachi asked. Unohana, Byakuya and Mayuri all nodded.

"He wanted to challenge me again the previous time I visited Hueco Mundo to find Urahara," Ichigo said. "He must have gotten bored of waiting for me."

"This sort of situation demands an immediate response," Unohana said. "I shall send a group of captains to Hueco Mundo to eliminate this arrancar."

"No!" Ichigo strongly objected. "He only wants me and me alone. I'll go by myself to fight him. I don't want anyone else to risk getting hurt." Several of the captains were about to object but Unohana overruled them.

"Alright, I grant you permission to head to Hueco Mundo and defeat this arrancar, Captain Kurosaki," Unohana said. "Until Captain Kurosaki returns, Seireitei and Karakura Cho shall remain on high alert." With that the meeting ended. Ichigo quickly Shunpo-ed back home to find Rukia still in bed, reading a book.

"What's wrong Ichigo? You look all nervous?" Rukia said.

"Grimmjow appeared in Karakura Cho last night, and challenged me to fight him," Ichigo replied. "I have no choice but to leave for Hueco Mundo now."

"I don't understand; why would Grimmjow still wish to fight you? I thought he had settled his grudge with you," Rukia said. Ichigo sighed heavily.

"Hardly. The only reason he didn't attack me the last time we met was because I told him that Aizen was the bigger target. I promised him that he and I would have a rematch as soon as Aizen was defeated. I guess he got tired of waiting all this time."

"I understand Ichigo. Please, take care of yourself and come back alive. I wouldn't know what to do without you," Rukia pleaded. Ichigo smiled and kissed her on the lip again. Then he went out the door.

Half an hour later Ichigo arrived at Urahara Kisuke's office and knocked on the door.

"Kurosaki-san, it's a surprise to see you at this time of the day," Urahara said sarcastically.

"Knock it off Urahara. I need you to set up a garganta to Hueco Mundo," Ichigo said. Urahara knew what he was referring to. He lowered his slouch hat.

"It can't be helped I guess," he sighed. "I'll have the garganta set up in no time." After fifteen minutes, Urahara had a garganta large enough to handle Ichigo's reiatsu set up in the courtyard of former royal palace.

"As you requested, this garganta leads straight to the front of Las Noches," Urahara said. "Unfortunately it can only stay open for twenty-four hours. You'll have to finish your job by then or else you'll be trapped there forever."

"Don't worry, I'll well and truly finish my business by then," Ichigo said. After Urahara wished him some luck, Ichigo headed through the garganta and Shunpo-ed as fast as he could until he got to the other end of the garganta. As soon as he exited it he found himself back in Hueco Mundo again. The imposing fortress of Las Noches lay in front of him, looking even worse for wear than ever. But Ichigo's attention turned to the figure coming towards him. It was a figure he had been long used to seeing.

"I knew you would come," Grimmjow Jaegarjaquez grinned as he walked within ten metres of Ichigo. "You just can't resist putting your life on the line for those innocent people, can you?"

"Grimmjow, why did you attack and kill those civilians in Karakura Cho?" Ichigo asked.

"To get your attention! I was sick and tired of waiting for you to come back here. When I heard that Aizen had been defeated and killed, I thought you'd come back straight away to uphold your promise, but for nearly a whole year you never came!" Grimmjow shouted. Ichigo knew something like this would happen.

"I had hoped you would give up on challenging me again, but it seems your resolve is as strong as ever," Ichigo sighed.

"Damn right it is. I still haven't paid you back for what you did to me during our last battle," Grimmjow said. "I've increased my power many times since then, more than enough to finally kill you with my bare hands!"

"Hmph, you're as bloodthirsty as ever. I thought becoming a Vasto Lorde would have made you more rational and intelligent, but the way I see it you're still succumbing to your base instincts."

"So what if I am? The other Vasto Lordes eventually pandered to their base instincts too. Plus this time, there's more at stake than me wanting to kill you. I was completely humiliated when you spared my life and chose to protect me against Nnoitra. I want to pay you back for completely insulting my honour!" Grimmjow yelled.

"I see. So you wish to fight for your honour. Very well, I shall place my honour at stake with this fight as well," Ichigo said. He unsheathed his sword and held it above his head. "Shine your light, Zangetsu." As he lowered his Zanpakto it changed into the trademark giant meat cleaver.

"Shikai eh? You're going to fight me in that state? I hope you don't have a death wished!" Grimmjow laughed as he pulled out his sword.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying," Ichigo grinned. "There are people waiting for me back home." The two fighters stared at each other for a moment, before charging towards each other, their blades causing an enormous shockwave as they clashed.

* * *

"I wonder if Ichigo is okay," Rukia said as she finished the book she had been reading. Though Ichigo had been gone little more than an hour she was already worried about his safety. It was well past midday and Rukia thought about getting up to get some exercise. But at more than eight months pregnant she didn't have the energy to move about much.

"I just pray he comes back alive," she said. A moment later she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and screamed out loudly. Somehow the waters inside her womb were churning about and Rukia could feel the feet and hands of her babies move inside of her. The pressure near the end of her womb started to increase, causing the pain she was feeling to worsen.

"Oh no, don't tell me they're coming out!" she cried. As she struggled to think of what to do, she heard voices coming from downstairs.

"Rukia Nee-san, we're home!" Karin and Yuzu called out. Rukia failed to reply. A few minutes later she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"There you are Rukia-san," Karin said. "We searched all over the house for you."

"Wait Karin-chan, something's wrong with her!" Yuzu exclaimed. "Her face is all red!" Isshin quickly went over to and checked on Rukia. He felt her waist and noticed the contraction motions coming from her womb.

"This isn't good; the babies are about to come out, aren't they?" Isshin asked Rukia.

"I think so. The motions started a short time ago," Rukia replied.

"There's not much time left then. Karin, Yuzu, help me lift Rukia onto my shoulders," Isshin ordered his daughters. "We have to take her to the fourth division's medical bay."

"Is Rukia going to give birth?" Yuzu and Karin both asked. Isshin's expressed told them everything they needed to know. Without hesitating they gently lifted Rukia up, taking extra care not to hurt her abdomen. Rukia placed her arms around Isshin's neck and grimaced in pain as Isshin's strong arms lifted her up. Isshin carried her down the stairs as gently as he could and then with Karin and Yuzu by his side he exited the Shiba Manor and walked as quickly as he could to the fourth division's barracks. Within twenty minutes he, Yuzu and Karin reached the front doors of the barracks.

"Captain Shiba, what are you doing here?" the guards standing at the front door asked.

"No time for questions! Let me through at once! This is an emergency!" Isshin shouted. The doors were swiftly opened. Isshin and his daughters walked all the way to Tessai's office and stormed inside. Both Tessai and his lieutenant Hachigen were shocked to see him.

"Isshin, you look exhausted. What business brings you here?" Tessai asked. He then saw the feverish figure of Rukia draped over Isshin's back.

"Rukia's waters broke a short while ago and her womb's begun to contract," Isshin said. Without asking any further questions Tessai quickly ordered Isshin to carry Rukia to the nearest emergency treatment bay. Isshin slowly lowered Rukia onto the well padded bed, but the contact with the surface still caused a sharp pain to strike through Rukia's body.

"Hachi, get as many obstetricians over immediately!" Tessai yelled out. "We're going to have to start emergency childbirth procedures as soon as possible."

"Yes, Tessai-san," Hachi nodded and quickly ran off to get the few medical officers in the division who had experience with child birth. In the mean time, Tessai, Isshin, Karin and Yuzu did everything they could to make Rukia feel comfortable. Rukia however, only had her mind for Ichigo. _Come back as soon as possible Ichigo. I don't want to give birth without you at my side_, she thought to herself.

* * *

Ichigo however was still locked in a ferocious battle with Grimmjow. The two of them had exchanged numerous blows across the deserts of Hueco Mundo and Grimmjow had managed to land several cuts upon Ichigo's face and arms.

"This is pathetic, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow shouted. "You can't even touch me. Go and release your Bankai right now. Or else I shall kill you on the spot." Ichigo didn't reply. Instead he fired a Getsuga Tensho directly at Grimmjow's head. Grimmjow swatted it away with his bare hands. Without stopping Ichigo twirled Zangetsu around in a circle, charging spiritual energy into the blade.

"What's this? I've never seen you do this trick before," Grimmjow said. Ichigo finished charging his spirit energy and gripped Zangetsu with both hands. He then Shunpo-ed in front of Grimmjow and thrust his blade forwards. Grimmjow blocked it with his Zanpakuto.

"You'll be surprised at the moves I've developed," Ichigo smirked. "Starting with this one: Chouseki Hadou!" A massive blue coloured energy blast shot out of Zangetsu and enveloped Grimmjow. The blast carved a five metre wide trench that stretched on for kilometers. When the smoke cleared however, it became apparent that Grimmjow had only been mildly singed by the attack. Ichigo gnashed his teeth in frustration.

"I take it that was the best you can do in Shikai mode," Grimmjow said. "It's to be expected. With your current level of power you can't hurt me at all. I'm through with taking it easy on you. If you won't release Bankai then I will kill you the way you are!" Grimmjow pointed his left hand at Ichigo's face. In an instant Ichigo knew exactly what Grimmjow was going to do. He jumped back and barely managed to dodge the crimson red cero fired from Grimmjow's hand. He was too focused on dodging the cero that he failed to see Grimmjow appear behind him. Grimmjow kicked Ichigo into the air, Sonido-ed after him and then slammed him into the ground with bone-crushing force. Ichigo emerged from the small crater he had made with a large cut upon his forehead, causing blood to flow down the side of his face.

"Tch, it seems you were correct Grimmjow, it was foolish of me to think I could fight evenly with you in just my Shikai form," Ichigo sighed. "I had hoped to conserve my energy against you, but in a battle like this I guess it isn't the wisest of decisions." Ichigo took off his haori and threw it near Urahara's garganta. Then he placed his left hand over his right hand and lowered Zangetsu to the ground. "Bankai!" Grimmjow watched as an immense black and white aura of reiatsu engulfed Ichigo and spiraled into the air. The former Sexta Espada grinned with excitement, knowing that the true battle was just beginning. The aura dissipated, revealing Ichigo in his Bankai robes.

"Bring it on Kurosaki Ichigo!" Grimmjow shouted. "I want to see how much you've improved!" Ichigo smirked slightly. Then, before Grimmjow could even react, Ichigo Shunpo-ed right above him. He charged Tensa Zangetsu with his Reiyoku, causing the blade to glow bright red. Grimmjow hastily lifted up his Zanpakuto to block, but Ichigo managed to slice through Grimmjow's sword, before cutting a deep gash down the left side of his body. Grimmjow screamed in pain as a torrent of blood spurted out and splattered everywhere on the ground.

"You bastard!" Grimmjow swore as he grasped his left shoulder with his right arm. "You're going to pay for causing this wound!" He charged at Ichigo and blindly attacked him, even though his sword had been snapped in half.

"What can you do with a broken sword Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked. "You look pathetic fighting like this." Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow's sword with his left hand and then kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying beside the sword fragment that had been cut off. "I'll repeat the words you said to me: you cannot hurt me with your current level of power. If you can still release with your sword, then do so. I'm a far cry from the heroic fool who fought you during our last battle. This time I shall not hesitate to kill you, as part of my mission." Grimmjow struggled to his feet and stared at Ichigo with malicious eyes. He grabbed both pieces of the sword and slammed them together, using his Reiyoku to fuse it back into a single blade.

"Fine then. I'll give you a taste of my new resurrecion. You'll see just how much stronger I've become!" Grimmjow screamed out. "Grind, Pantera!" A giant plume of reiatsu engulfed his body, causing a tornado of dust to rise from the ground. When the tornado cleared, Ichigo gazed at Grimmjow's new released form. His appearance was mostly the same, but there were clearly some major differences. Grimmjow's cat ears had been replaced by two ear-like extensions to the back of his crown mask. His former claws had been replaced by a pair of human-like gauntlets, but with visible claw-like extensions protruding from his knuckles. His feline feet were replaced by a pair of skull-white boots, and although he still had a tail it was much shorter and sleeker than before, hanging from his waist instead of dangling upright.

"Looks like you've become more human-like in your released form," Ichigo said.

"My appearance isn't the only that has changed," Grimmjow said. They stared at each other for a brief moment, before coming together in a violent clash that caused another enormous shockwave that rocked the foundations of Las Noches. Ichigo's blade was locked against Grimmjow's claws, and the two of them struggled to overpower each other. They then flew into the air and began an intense aerial battle across the deserts of Hueco Mundo. The two fighters Shunpo-ed and Sonido-ed at incredible speeds and each attack they made were aimed at the opponent's vital spots.

Eventually Grimmjow managed to block Ichigo's sword with both his claws, and then proceeded to kick him hard in the jaw, sending Ichigo crashing to the ground again. Ichigo didn't stay down for long. He spat out some blood, grabbed the chain of his Bankai sword and then swung Tensa Zangetsu at Grimmjow. Grimmjow easily dodged the attack and grabbed hold of Ichigo's sword.

"Ha, ha, ha, thanks for lending me your sword!" Grimmjow yelled as he swung he swung Ichigo as fast as he could. After several swings he threw Ichigo towards the walls of Las Noches at high speeds. Ichigo tried hard to slow himself down but still ended up smashing into the walls. He saw Grimmjow flying towards him and quickly extricated himself from the walls. Ichigo fired a massive black Getsuga directly at Grimmjow, and before Grimmjow could dodge the first slash, Ichigo Shunpo-ed behind him and fired a second Getsuga.

"Not this move again!" Grimmjow laughed. He clasped his arms together, charged his reiatsu and thrust his arms outwards. In a move Ichigo did not expect, Grimmjow fired a pair of Cero Oscuras from his hands. The black ceros completely disintegrated the Getsugas and Ichigo had to jump high into the sky to avoid getting caught in them. Grimmjow quickly spotted Ichigo and without warning started firing a rapid barrage of balas at him. Ichigo easily dodged and evaded the balas and struck at Grimmjow's face. Grimmjow side-stepped the attack and swung his right claw at Ichigo. Ichigo quickly countered with another swing of his sword. The two attacks collided in mid-air, creating a massive ball of reiatsu that expanded outwards before dissipating. Ichigo and Grimmjow stared at each other whilst both of them tried to recover their breaths.

"Shit, I can't believe I still haven't caused any major injuries upon you," Grimmjow swore.

"Looks like we're both evenly matched so far," Ichigo grinned. "I was surprised at you being able to fire those black ceros. That was one of Ulquiorra's moves."

"So you fought Ulquiorra in his released form. No wonder you were able to dodge them so easily. I however, have yet to demonstrate the full powers of my resurrecion!" Grimmjow exclaimed. He pointed his right arm at Ichigo, and from the front of his elbow greaves a missile suddenly appeared and flew towards Ichigo.

"Whoa!" Ichigo shouted in surprise as he narrowly dodged the missile. "That was close."

"Are you sure of that?" Grimmjow asked with a malicious grin on his face. Ichigo looked back and saw the missile was coming at him again. Without hesitating Ichigo fired a Getsuga at the missile, causing it detonate in an explosion that rose higher than the roof of Las Noches. Ichigo was caught in the explosion, but he escaped with burns to his arms and legs.

"Did you like the taste of my Garra Dardo?" Grimmjow asked. "These darts of mine lock onto to your reiatsu, so escape is impossible. I've got plenty more of them right here!" Grimmjow pointed both arms at Ichigo and from his elbow greaves fired a barrage of several dozen of the missile darts. Having been hit by the first missile, Ichigo knew he couldn't afford to get hit again. As the missiles came towards him, he silently mouthed "Tengetsu Gaieshi." He channeled his Reiyoku into his feet and just as the missile reached detonation range Ichigo flew off. He flew to the other side of Las Noches at supersonic speed but the missiles were almost as fast. Ichigo flew upwards into the air but the missiles kept on following him.

"Escape is useless! They'll chase you forever!" Grimmjow laughed in an insane voice. Ichigo was fast getting tired to flying around like this. With a quick burst of speed he got a sizeable distance away from the missiles. Then he turned around and fired a rapid barrage of Getsugas, each one targeted at a missile. The missiles all detonated, causing a series of gigantic explosions that shook the very surface of Hueco Mundo. When the dust cleared, there were numerous craters carved into the sand, but to Grimmjow's dismay Ichigo wasn't even scratched.

"Impossible! How did you destroy my darts without suffering damage?" Grimmjow asked.

"It's simple. I used Renzoku Getsuga," Ichigo explained. "It's a variation of Getsuga Tensho that I can fire numerous times without charging. Well, do you have other moves left?" Infuriated by Ichigo's taunts, Grimmjow went into a rage, charging as much Reiyoku as possible into his hands. In a move that Ichigo recognized, Grimmjow created a series of blue energy claws more than a hundred metres in length.

"Remember this attack Kurosaki Ichigo? My Desugarron has become way stronger than before!" Grimmjow laughed madly. "They're sharp enough to cut through even steel!" He aimed the claws at Ichigo, who barely managed to block them with his side. Grimmjow pushed Ichigo to the ground and hammered at him with the Desugarron. The blue energy claws ground against Tensa Zangetsu, and Ichigo noticed that the surface of the blade was starting to get stretched.

"It's over, Kurosaki Ichigo!" Grimmjow laughed. Ichigo took a deep breath and sighed.

"Tengetsu Gaieshi," he said. In an instant a sphere of black reiatsu surrounded Ichigo and quickly hardened into a dense shell. The Desugarron not only failed to penetrate the shell but the hardness of it caused the claws to break off. Grimmjow was astonished.

"This can't be happening. My Desugarron can cut through anything! What kind of move is this?"

"This is the basic ability of my Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu," Ichigo explained. "It's called Tengetsu Gaieshi. My Bankai is unlike most other Shinigami. Whereas other Bankais vastly expand and manifest their user's reiatsu, my Bankai allows me to suppress and control my reiatsu. Initially I was only able to compress my reiatsu to a point where I could move at supersonic speeds, but now I'm able to compress and expand my reiatsu at will. When fully expanded my reiatsu forms an impenetrable force field around me. As long as I have spirit energy left the shield cannot be breached by attacks of any kind. However, I can still attack from within this shield." Ichigo charged spirit energy into his blade and shouted "Chouseki Hadou!" A dense red beam of energy shot out of the sword and scythed through the Desugarron. Grimmjow saw what was happened and hastily raised his arms in front of his body to shield himself. The beam sliced through his elbows, causing more blood to spurt out.

"Well then, is that all you've got Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked. "If that is the limit of your powers then this battle is as good as over." Instead of launching into a screaming rage, Grimmjow grinned maniacally and descended to the ground.

"I never thought you'd increase your powers by this much," Grimmjow admitted. "I was hoping to have some fun with you in my first released form, but it appears I have no choice to go all out."

"This is only your first released form? Does this mean you have another?" Ichigo was confused.

"Watch carefully, Kurosaki Ichigo. This is something that only arrancars who have ascended to Vasto Lorde status can achieve!" Grimmjow shouted. Ichigo felt the spirit pressure around him increase rapidly. He then saw that Grimmjow was convulsing. Cracks started to appear in his armour and his body started glowing a bright blue. Then in a blinding explosion Grimmjow's armour exploded outward, showering Ichigo with thousands of miniature fragments. A cloud of Reiyoku briefly surrounded his body, obscuring him from view. When the cloud dissipated Ichigo was stunned at what he saw. Grimmjow appeared again, this time in a completely different form. Instead of an armored suit that covered most of his body, he now wore a pair of ragged black jeans. His muscles were now significantly larger and his skin had turned a yellowish tan in colour. He also took more feline features again, with long tufted ears, claws on his hands and feet, and a long flowing blue tail. But the most distinctive new feature was his hair, for a thick beard and sideburns had grown around Grimmjow's face, which, combined with his already long hair, resembled the main of a lion. The only remnants of his old released form were the crown mask fragment around his forehead and his hollow hole. Ichigo gazed at Grimmjow's appearance in awe.  
"This is Resurrecion Segundo Etapa," Grimmjow stated.

* * *

At the same moment, back in Soul Society, Renji ran as fast as he could to the fourth division's medical office, with Byakuya, Lisa and Nanao following behind him. The four of them had just gotten word of Rukia's hospitalization and wasted no time in responding.

"Where is Rukia?" Renji grabbed a terrified fourth division member by the collar as soon as he entered the barracks.

"Eh, she's in the second emergency treatment bay," the member responded. He pointed towards the corridor on the left. Renji let him go and ran all the way to the front of the treatment bay. However the entrance was blocked by the fourth division's third seat Hanatarou Yamada.

"Captain Abarai, what are you doing here?" Hanatarou asked.

"I'm here to see Rukia! We heard she started having contractions of her womb," Renji said.

"You mustn't Abarai-san! Our division's midwives are attending her at the moment! If you all of you enter at once it could place her under even more stress and pain!" Hanatarou pleaded.

"He is correct Renji. We have no choice but to wait out here until Rukia's labour is finished," Byakuya said.

"Well we can at least know how she's going at the moment!" Renji exclaimed.

"Rukia-san has begun the initial stages of her final contraction," Hanatarou said with a grim face. "This can last anywhere from five minutes to half an hour."

"The final contraction is usually the most painful right?" Lisa asked. Hanatarou nodded. In frustration Renji punched the wall beside him.

"Damn it, where is Ichigo at a time like this? He should at his wife's side!" Renji yelled.

"I believe he is still fighting rogue Espada Grimmjow in Hueco Mundo," Byakuya explained.

"He better finish him off soon."

* * *

Notes: I'm sure a lot of readers were itching for some actual fighting after a whole series of chapters dealing with politics in Bleach. So I've obliged by writing the only conceivable fight at this point in the story-the unfinished battle between Ichigo and Grimmjow. This will be the final battle between the two of them. Whoever wins neither one will fight each other again. As befitting this fight's status, both Ichigo and Grimmjow have demonstrated moves that have not been shown before, so I'll go for a brief rundown of the abilities demonstrated in this chapter.

Chouseki Hadou: (Tidal Wave in Japanese). Ichigo's second Shikai ability. He charges spirit energy in Zangetsu and discharges it in a solid energy beam rather than a slashing move like Getsuga Tenshou. In its Bankai incarnation Ichigo can manipulate Chouseki Hadou into a long range cutting beam.

Renzoku Getsuga: (Consecutive Moon Fang in Japanese): A variation of Getsuga that allows Ichigo to fire multiple energy attacks without charging.

Tengetsu Gaieshi: (Heavenly Moon Reflection in Japanese): This is Ichigo's Bankai Ability. Although it's already explained in the chapter itself, I'll clarify how it works by saying that it gives Ichigo complete control over his reiatsu. He can expand or compress it at will. At maximum compression he gains inhuman speed and agility and is able to fly in the air. At maximum expansion he gains an inpenetrable force field that can deflect all physical and spiritual attacks. There is also a midway stage where Ichigo is able to sense the reiatsu of other opponents.

Garra Dardo (Claw Darts in Japanese): These are the dart missiles that Grimmjow can shoot from his elbows. They pack an immense destructive power and can lock onto a target's reiatsu, like homing missiles.

Of course, the battle is only halfway done. The next chapter will feature the conclusion of the fight, along with loads more abilities from both Ichigo and Grimmjow!


	10. Chapter 10: The Last Gasp

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: Eight months since Rukia fell pregnant and two months after Soul Society's general election which saw Urahara become President, Ichigo is confronted with another personal test when he learns that the former Espada, Grimmjow Jaegajaquez, had challenged him to a final battle to the death. Not wanting to let any more innocent lives suffer, Ichigo travels to Hueco Mundo and confronts Grimmjow. The two of them engage in a fight that starts to destroy the surface of Hueco Mundo itself. Meanwhile, back in Soul Society, Rukia suddenly enters a premature labour. She is rushed to the fourth division's hospital by Isshin, Karin and Yuzu, where the nurses prepare for an emergency birth. Ichigo and Grimmjow's battle intensifies as Ichigo demonstrates the full power of his Bankai, whilst Grimmjow reveals his second resurrecion state...

* * *

Chapter 10: The Last Gasp

"Resurrecion Segundo Etapa," Grimmjow said to Ichigo as he revealed his ultimate transformation. "This is a state that only arrancars who have reached the status Vasto Lorde can achieve." Ichigo was impressed but hardly surprise by Grimmjow's appearance.

"Resurrecion Segundo huh? Ulquiorra demonstrated that form during my final battle with him," Ichigo said. "Just like you, he lost most traces of his hollow appearance."

"So Ulquiorra managed to achieve that state too," Grimmjow grinned. "I bet he didn't have much experience using it, else Aizen would have named him the Segundo Espada. I however, have practiced using this form since the day I attained it, more than a year ago. I'm far stronger than Ulquiorra was."

"Go on then, show me the extent of your powers. I'll see how powerful you are compared to Ulquiorra by himself," Ichigo said with confidence. As a precautionary measure Ichigo activated Tengetsu Gaieshi's maximum expansion mode, surrounding himself with the impenetrable barrier. He watched as Grimmjow raised his right claw above his head. Grimmjow made a rapid slash downwards. To Ichigo's shock, three huge gashes suddenly appeared down his chest, causing torrents of blood to spurt out. _What the hell? How could he injure me when he didn't he touch me at all? _Ichigo thought to himself as he used Kidou to staunch the blood loss. His Bankai overcoat had now been torn open.

"I can see that you're still surprised at what I just did," Grimmjow smirked. "This is one of my of new form's basic moves, Vacio Desgarron. As the Espada of Destruction, no dimension or space is free from my touch. My claws can tear through the fabric of reality of itself, and even a negacion cannot stand up to their power. So that flimsy barrier of yours is useless; I can just teat you apart directly!"

"Is that so?" Ichigo sighed. "Well then, I guess absolute defence won't work anymore." He switched Tengetsu Gaieshi to maximum compression and flew towards Grimmjow at supersonic speed. Grimmjow slashed at him with the Vacio Desgarron again, but with his enhanced reiatsu senses, Ichigo was able to predict Grimmjow's movements. He dodged all of the slashes and closed in to melee range. Grimmjow however, merely closed his eyes and smiled sinisterly, before letting out an incredible bestial howl that blew Ichigo away, sending him flying backwards. The force of the howl was powerful enough to cause lacerations and cuts upon Ichigo's face, arms and chest and carve a kilometers long trench across the desert landscape.

"Ow, what a scream that was," Ichigo said as he got to his feet.

"That was Primera Aullido, an upgraded version of my previous released state's roar," Grimmjow said, appearing behind Ichigo. Ichigo froze in shock; he didn't even sense Grimmjow's reiatsu appear behind him. "I've figured out the weakness behind your Bankai's ability. This Tengetsu Gaieshi of yours as three states, the ultimate defence, the ultimate speed and the ultimate sense. You can only activate one state at a time. You couldn't sense me approaching because you had maximized your speed. But if you sharpen your senses, your body can't keep up with my enhanced Sonido." Before Ichigo could turn and attack Grimmjow, he was punched hard in the back, sending him flying forwards. Grimmjow Sonido-ed in front of Ichigo and kicked him high into the air. As a finisher, Grimmjow Sonido-ed through the air above Ichigo and slammed him towards the ground using both hands.

Ichigo plummeted into the sand, throwing up an enormous dust cloud. When it cleared, Grimmjow could see Ichigo lying face down in the middle of a hundred metre wide crater. Coughing blood from his mouth and with fresh wounds on his back and his face, Ichigo struggled to his feet. Just as he got up, he was grabbed in the throat by Grimmjow, who started squeezing it tightly.

"I know you still have a level of power that you have yet to show me," Grimmjow said. "Unleash your hollow mode. I've reached the pinnacle of my powers in order to defeat you and I suggest you do the same, unless you want me to strangle you right here."

"Fine then, I will," Ichigo muttered. Grimmjow threw him backwards and gave him time to stand up again. Ichigo nursed his throat, feeling the scars where Grimmjow's claws had dug into his skin.

"I have to admit that I underestimated you Grimmjow," Ichigo said. "In my current state I would be strong enough to defeat Ulquiorra without resorting to my mask, but you are truly more powerful than him. Since you are so determined to defeat me, I cannot afford not to go all out myself. Watch carefully Grimmjow; this is the new extent of my hollowfication." Ichigo placed his left hand over his face and summoned his hollow mask. In that moment his reiatsu increased nearly tenfold, causing the entire area around Hueco Mundo to be buffeted by his spiritual pressure. The force was strong enough to cause even Grimmjow to buckle, as an immense spiraling aura of sinister black spirit energy surrounded Ichigo's body. When the aura cleared, Ichigo appeared before Grimmjow in his Vizard form. However his mask was noticeably different. Instead of a one side having red stripes, now both sides of the masks were covered by red stripes.

"Ha, your mask has changed. It has stripes on both sides," Grimmjow mocked Ichigo's look.

"The stripes signify the control I have over my hollow side," Ichigo said. "Before I could only manage to half control my hollow side, and had to almost struggle to prevent it from taking over me again. But now, I have embraced my inner hollow's philosophy of violence whilst retaining my sanity. I have access to all of his powers and his intellect." Ichigo raised his left hand and pointed his index and middle fingers at Grimmjow. Without warning he shot a near instantaneous red cero targeted at Grimmjow's head. Grimmjow barely had enough time to raise both his hands and block the cero. The force of the attack was strong enough to push him backwards. When Grimmjow finally deflected the cero into the air, he saw that Ichigo was gone. A second later he sensed Ichigo appear behind him but it was too late. With a charged Chouseki Hadou in his blade, Ichigo slashed through Grimmjow's right side, causing a wound so deep that Grimmjow only narrowly escaped having his right arm and leg from being severed. A massive torrent of blood spurted onto the sand.

"Damn you!" Grimmjow swore. He wrapped his tail around Ichigo's neck and tried to strangle him. Ichigo however managed to grab hold of the tail with his left hand and with sliced it clean using his sword. Grimmjow screamed in pain and fell onto his knees. Ichigo gave his foe time to recover from the wounds he inflicted upon him.

"Shit, shit, shit! I'm going to kill you!" Grimmjow screamed in rage. He got up again and kicked out at Ichigo with his right leg. Ichigo side-stepped the attack and sliced Grimmjow's toes off. He then fired a bala from his left hand that sent Grimmjow flying dozens of metres backwards.

"Had enough yet Grimmjow? Have I finally demonstrated the gap between our powers?" Ichigo asked. He saw Grimmjow struggle to his feet, with blood still flowing profusely from his body. In an action that hardly surprised Ichigo, Grimmjow staunched the blood flow, closed up the major injuries and regenerated his tail and right toes.

"So, you've gained regenerative powers just like Ulquiorra," Ichigo commented.

"I will not, I will absolutely not," Grimmjow stuttered. "There is no way that I WILL LOSE TO YOU!!!" Now consumed by his anger and frustration Grimmjow lashed out at Ichigo, striking at him with a rapid succession of Vacio Desgarron. Ichigo calmly sidestepped the paths of all the attacks, most of which caused large tears upon the walls of Las Noches. Grimmjow then used his Primera Aullido again, howling at him with even greater force. This time Ichigo withstood the howl, being only forced backwards by a few metres, before Shunpo-ing in front of Grimmjow. Charging a bala in his left foot, Ichigo kicked Grimmjow hard in the face, sending him flying through the walls of Las Noches. A few seconds later Grimmjow burst out from the walls of Las Noches and flew down towards Ichigo.

"Eat this!" Grimmjow shouted. He started firing a barrage of black ceros at Ichigo before charging in for a quick kill. Ichigo however had surrounded himself with a negacion before the ceros hit him, and just as Grimmjow was about to use his Vacio Desgarron again, Ichigo grabbed hold of his right hand.

"I think you should give up Grimmjow," Ichigo said. "I have no qualms about killing you, but it would be a shame to beat on someone who is so clearly outmatched." In an unorthodox move, Ichigo head-butted Grimmjow, knocking him towards the ground. "I've seen the extent of your abilities and to be honest my power right now is still a league above yours. There is no reason why you can't give up now and come back to fight me again later. That is of course if you even had a good reason to fight me in the first place, apart from a vain effort to prove your superiority over me." Ichigo's speech triggered a set of raw emotions within Grimmjow that caused him to burst outwards in an explosion of anger.

"Those eyes…those eyes of yours! I hate anyone who shows those kinds of eyes towards me! Eyes of condescension and of pity!!!" Grimmjow screamed. "You already know why I choose to fight. I choose to fight and kill anyone who looks at me with those eyes! Eyes that make me feel inferior! I can't stand that! I must prove my superiority over all other beings, whether they are hollow or Shinigami. I shall crush anyone who stands in my way, for I am the King!" Grimmjow leaped into the air again and this time thrust both his arms outwards. "I'm going to destroy you. I'll obliterate you until not a fragment of your soul remains! Only then can I truly say that I've won!"

All of a sudden Grimmjow's body was surrounded by a blue aura. An enormous concentration of Reiyoku started gathering in the palms of his hands. Ichigo noticed that the spirit energy wasn't just coming from Grimmjow's own body. Instead they were being sucked in from the surrounding environment. The surface of the walls of Las Noches, the sand that made up the desert of Hueco Mundo, and even the trees that dotted the surface started breaking down into basic reishi. This reishi was sucked into the balls vortexes of energy that were forming around Grimmjow's hands. Soon Grimmjow brought his arms in front of him and combined the vortices of energy into a single massive vortex that crackled with electricity. To Ichigo, the entire process had similarities to the way Ishida had gathered reishi in his Quincy Final Form mode. _It's like he has the whole of Hueco Mundo at his disposal_, Ichigo thought. As a precautionary move, Ichigo shouted "Bakudo 81, Danku!" and placed a large barrier in front of him. He then surrounded himself with a negacion shield before going into maximum expansion mode.

" This is it, my most powerful move!" Grimmjow shouted. "CERO PANTERA!!!!" From his clasped hands his shot out a massive golden energy blast that rocketed towards Ichigo at immense speed. To Ichigo's shock the blast not only smashed the Danku apart; it also broke through the Negacion shield. Ichigo knew his Tengetsu Gaieshi wouldn't stand a chance against it, so at the last moment he stepped to the side. He still ended up receiving the force of the cero as the powerful blast careened all the way to the mountains in the distance. It eventually detonated in an immense sphere shaped blast several kilometers wide before slowly dissipating. Grimmjow was left panting heavily, his spirit energy all but spent in unleashing his ultimate attack.

"At last, it's over," he grinned. When the dust cleared however, Ichigo was still alive. His left arm had been completely blown off by the cero and the left side of his mask had shattered. A steady flow of blood dropped down from his wound.

"Tch, you're still alive!" Grimmjow said in frustration. "Oh well, this battle's practically finished anyway since you're missing an arm." Ichigo found Grimmjow's arrogance amusing.

"Do you think a missing arm will hinder me that much?" he asked. Grimmjow's eyes widened when he saw Ichigo regenerate his left arm in a near instant. He also restored the left side of his mask.

"Just like you and Ulquiorra, I too can regenerate myself, although not to the extent of my hollow side. Plus it hurts like hell when I do it," Ichigo said, swinging around his new left arm. "Well then, as you said, this battle's practically over. You've shown me your ultimate move, so I take it you have nothing left then." A still shell-shocked Grimmjow was too stunned to react as Ichigo fired a Getsuga Tensho at him. The blast sent him flying towards the walls of Las Noches again. Before Grimmjow hit the walls, Ichigo charged spirit energy in his left hand.

"Bakudo 63, Sajo Sabaku," he said. Four yellow circles of energy appeared around Grimmjow's waist and bound his arms tightly against his body. Ichigo then charged more spirit energy in his hand. "Bakudo 62, Hyappo Rankan," he said. A blue lance of energy formed in his hands. He threw it at Grimmjow, where it split into dozens of smaller rods that impaled Grimmjow against the wall.

"You think these shitty bonds are going to restrain me?" Grimmjow asked as he struggled to break free. He then noticed Ichigo's rapidly increasing reiatsu.

"Of course not Grimmjow, I'm just buying time to charge up my ultimate move," Ichigo said. "You've given it your all in your fight against me so it would be proper for me to use my full force against you. Prepare yourself to face my most powerful attack." Ichigo swung Tensa Zangetsu in a circular arc in front of him before thrust it outwards. As it did so he gathered white spirit energy at the tip of the blade.

"Cero…" Ichigo swung his sword behind his body. The energy he had gathered began charging the length of the blade in pure reiatsu, surrounding Zangetsu with a white aura. "Getsuga…" At this point Grimmjow succeeded in breaking free of the Sajo Sabaku and proceeded to rip the spirit rods from his body.

"There is no way…there is no way I'm going to be done in by that puny attack of yours!!!!" he shouted as he broke free. He formed a sphere of reiatsu around his body and flew at Ichigo as fast as he could. Ichigo however had finished charging his attack. With his Zanpakuto at maximum power he thrust it forwards using both hands. "HADOU!!!!" An all encompassing, spiraling white energy blast shot out from the blade and at the speed of sound smashed into Grimmjow. The released former Espada struggled with the last remnants of his strength to overcome it, screaming at the top of his lungs. Ichigo however simply doubled the size of the blast, expanding it to nearly encompass the whole of Las Noches. Grimmjow was completely overcome, with the blast ripping away his released form.

The Cero Getsuga Hadou smashed into Las Noches and demolished the entire super structure in seconds, before it flew dozens of kilometers into the distance. Eventually it detonated in a truly immense spherical explosion hundreds of kilometers in diameter, before finally dissipating in a mushroom cloud that rose high into the Hueco Mundo atmosphere.

* * *

At the exact moment he was consumed by the blast, Grimmjow's life suddenly flashed before him…

_A young teenage punk trudged through the ghettos of Warsaw. He no friends and no family. He no one to depend on. Every day was a struggle to survive. He stole money and food whenever possible, fled as soon as the police tried to catch him, and beat up any rival youth who crossed paths with him. In his own little world, he was the ultimate beast, the king of the jungle._

_His reign could not last forever. Eventually the authorities caught him and he was taken to prison. Given a choice between a quick execution or a glorious death on the battlefield, he chose the latter. And so he was thrust into the cauldron of war, fighting against a remorseless and unstoppable enemy. He fought like a madman, never retreating and never showing fear. He slaughtered as many of them as he could, whilst his comrades fled like cowards. But however brave he was, he was still just one man and soon he was surrounded by the enemy. He was shot like back and his last thoughts before blacking out where that he had died the way he wanted to._

_But it was not to be. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a place worse than hell. All around him were creatures that looked like skeletons, but in truth they were people like just him. He looked at his own body and was appalled at how decrepit he had become. Trapped in a cage, he longed for someone to end his miserable existence. After what seemed like an eternity, someone did come to end his life. He was taken to chamber along with a group of his former comrades. Locked inside, they were subjected to a strange gas. The gas entered his lungs quickly started dissolving his body. Within seconds he was dead, but his agony had just begun._

_Upon the moment of death, he became a monster, without sense or rationality. Unable to comprehend what had happened to him, he was suddenly transported to a cold and dark place. There, the fellow prisoners who had also died and became monsters started devouring each other. Soon enough a monster tried to devour him. As a pure instinct to survive, he became the devourer and proceeded to slaughter the others. Then another change happened to him. He felt himself transform into a giant but in the process lost all sense of his own self. He was nothing more than a small part of an abomination. _

_"Who am I? What am I?" he started to ask himself. "Do I even have a name?" It was a question that he struggled to answer. Eventually he did come to an answer. His name was Grimmjow. He was himself. At that moment the mass of souls became one soul and the black giant transformed into a cat-like creature. It knew nothing of its past life, nor its purpose for existence, save to dominate over all others and become the king…_

Grimmjow regained consciousness and found himself lying in a pool of his own blood. His spirit was all but gone and his shattered body was barely clinging to existence. Even in this state he tried to get up and continue fighting. He looked up to see an ominous figure standing over him. It was Ichigo. His mask had disappeared but his presence was no less oppressive.

"It's over Grimmjow," Ichigo said. "You have lost."

"Never…I will never…lose!!" Grimmjow croaked in a hoarse voice.

"Your body is one shred away from death and you still want to fight me? Don't give me that bullshit!" Ichigo yelled in anger. "Fighting to prove yourself or to crush your opponents is one thing, but throwing your life away like you're doing now is insanity. It was only a miracle that you are still alive right now. At this point in time you should be only thinking about survival. There's no point in dying without a purpose. If you want to die, then die with the knowledge that you've achieved something. If I was the one on my deathbed, I would die happy, knowing that I had fought for a future for my beloved ones, my nakama and for Soul Society. What would you die for? Your own pointless struggle, or for the people who care about you? Don't tell me that you don't feel a feel thing for Neliel and the other surviving hollows."

"Why do I care? That bitch and those worms don't matter to me," Grimmjow croaked. "Finish me if you wish, but I will not be defeated like this!" Ichigo was saddened by Grimmjow's pathetic state.

"Very well then, it seems I have no choice but to kill you," Ichigo said. He raised his sword and slashed down at Grimmjow. Before his blade could deliver the killing blow however, it was blocked by another sword. Ichigo widened his eyes in surprise when he saw who it was.

"Nel!!" he exclaimed. The former third Espada looked the same as she did the last time Ichigo saw her, but the expression on her face was different. It was an expression of anger and enmity.

"This is far enough Ichigo," Neliel said. "Grimmjow may want you to kill him, but there's no way I'm going to let you. If you try to raise your sword again then I have no choice but to treat you as an enemy." Ichigo sighed deeply as he lowered his sword to the ground and returned his Zanpakuto to its sealed form.

"I'm sorry Nel-san, I didn't mean for it to end like this," Ichigo apologized.

"It's hardly your fault," Neliel started smiling again. "This stupid idiot snuck out of our cozy hideout in the Menos Forest without warning. I searched everywhere for him and only when I sensed the immense spiritual pressures near Las Noches did I realized what had happened. Thus it should be I who should be blamed for letting him cause so much trouble to you."

"Ah forget about it, it's just one of those things that happened," Ichigo laughed. "I guess this is the final goodbye Nel-san. We will probably never see each other again. You'd better take care of Grimmjow. I can tell that you love him." Nel suddenly blushed in embarrassment.

"Um, goodbye Ichigo. It was nice knowing you!" she cried out. Ichigo smiled one last time before Shunpo-ing away. He quickly arrived back at the garganta and picked up his haori and put it on. He then entered the garganta and hurried to the other side.

After Ichigo left Hueco Mundo, Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka, Bawabawa and Gantenbein took Grimmjow back to their hideout and healed him the best they could. When he awoke again, he found himself lying on a stone bed with almost his whole body wrapped in bandages.

"Uh…where am I?" he asked.

"Back at our home you baka!" Neliel slapped him on the face. "What were you thinking when you barged into the middle of Soul Society and challenged Ichigo again? You're lucky he was merciful enough to spare your idiotic life!"

"Spare my life…" Grimmjow pondered. Then he realized something. "Damn him! I'm going to make him pay for showing pity on me again!" He tried getting up but instantly felt his whole body shudder in pain, causing him to drop back down and cough repeatedly.

"Don't even think about fighting; right now you can barely move!" Neliel scolded him. "When I got to you your body was a bloodied mess and almost unrecognizable. Only my saliva and Pesche's slick wrapping brought you back from near death."

"Yeah be grateful for the bandages, because I'm the one who made them all!" Pesche gloated.

"He's right, Yansu," Dondochakka added.

"Tch, being spared by my mortal enemy, rescued by a bitch like you and wrapped up like a mummy by an ant and a beetle, this is most humiliating moment of my life," Grimmjow muttered.

"At least it's better than dying like a sore loser," Neliel said. "Besides, there are more important things to think about than fighting Shinigami. Even though we are hollows at the most basic level we're still humans. And like humans or Shinigami, our only purpose is to live as long as possible. That was how it was when we were gillians and adjuchas and it still holds true now that we are arrancars." Upon hearing Neliel's words, Grimmjow recalled the flashback moment he had when he was on the verge of dying, and realized how much of an idiot he was this whole time.

"Damn it, I can't believe I even lost sight of my own goal," he muttered.

"Don't worry about it. As long as we're all here, you can be the king over us," Neliel smiled. And so from that point on Grimmjow, Neliel and the other surviving arrancars continued their existence in the forests of Hueco Mundo…

* * *

Meanwhile, Ichigo exited the garganta and arrived back at Urahara's office, in the heart of Seireitei. To his surprise, Ichigo saw that Urahara had been waiting for him.

"Ah you're finally back Kurosaki-san!" Urahara exclaimed with his shopkeeper voice. "Everyone's become anxious waiting for you."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh right you were away when it happened," Urahara's expression changed and be became more serious. "Rukia-san has entered labour. She's at the fourth division's medical barracks right now. You'd better head there quickly or else you'll miss the birth of your own children."

"Are you serious? Shit I've got hurry!!" Ichigo shouted nervously. He rushed out of Urahara's office. From behind, he heard Urahara's voice again.

"Don't forget to wipe off all of your blood!!" Urahara called out.

"Oh right, I can't let Rukia see me like this," Ichigo said to himself. He made a detour to his own division barracks.

"Aaah it's coming!!" Rukia screamed in pain. She could feel the heads of one of her babies slowly slide down the end of her womb and tried her hardest to hasten the process.

"Keep on going Rukia-san, squeeze harder!" one of the nurses provided encouragement.

"You're almost there, I can just make out the baby's head," another of the nurses said. However much they tried to comfort her, the pain of the labour was for Rukia to bear alone. Even though Tessai and Hachigen had given her countless amounts of anesthetics and pain relievers, she could still feel an excruciating sensation of a large object being shoved through her body. _This is too much for me to bear. I might pass out before I can even see my children. Oh Ichigo, where are you right now? Why aren't you here beside me?_ Rukia's thoughts started to become disjointed and rushed as the pain reached its crescendo. In one final struggle the head of her baby was forced out of the womb. The nurses and obstetricians quickly assisted in the passage of the rest of the body.

Rukia breathed laboriously, relieved for a brief moment.

"Congratulations Kuchiki-san, it's a boy!" the nurses said with excitement.

"A boy huh, that's really good to know," Rukia said. Her joy was soon over however, when she felt another contraction in her womb. _Oh no, the second baby is about to come!_

Outside the maternity ward, Renji, Byakuya, Isshin, Karin, Yuzu, Nanao and Lisa all sat on nearby seats waiting anxiously for any news.

"Hey Ojii-san, I think I just heard the sound of a baby crying," Yuzu said. Isshin nodded.

"One of the twins must have been born already," Renji said. "I bet the other's going to come out now. Damn it Ichigo, why haven't you come yet?"

Ichigo however was well on his way. He got to his division office within ten minutes of leaving the garganta and quickly headed to the small private bathroom. He grabbed a towel and started to wipe the excess blood away. For the blood that had started to dry up, he used water in the tap to make it moist again. After five minutes he had roughly cleaned most of the blood from his body, leaving only a few shallow cuts and bruises.

"That's good enough for now," Ichigo said. "I don't have time to change my clothes." He rushed out of his office, not bothering to stop to greet his subordinates. Upon leaving the division barracks he Shunpo-ed as fast as he could to the fourth division barracks.

"Make way, sorry, coming through!" he yelled out hastily as he barged in through the front door, almost knocking aside several terrified fourth division members. He stopped for a brief moment to ask where Rukia was and when a young nurse told her the directions he ran as fast he could to the ward without thanking her. Two minutes later he finally reached the passage directly outside the ward and was suddenly set upon by a host of friends and relatives.

"Ichigo you're back!!!" Ichigo exclaimed in happiness. "We're been waiting for you for so long!" His sisters were also delighted to see him again.

"You came just in time Ichigo," Renji said. "If you came any later you might have missed the birth of both of your children."

"What, are you saying that Rukia's given birth to one already?" Ichigo asked. He looked at Byakuya, who nodded with a sigh. Without a word he barged into the ward, causing the nurses, obstetrician, Tessai and Hachi to all freak out.

"Knock before you enter next time Ichigo," Tessai scolded him.

"Am I too late?" Ichigo asked anxiously. He then heard the sound of a baby's crying just as Rukia stopped screaming. The nurses got to work at cutting the baby's umbilical cord.

"Congratulations Kurosaki-dono, your wife has just given birth to a healthy girl," the obstetrician said. Ichigo glanced down at his newly born child and was emotionally relieved. The nurses allowed him to carry her. Ichigo then saw the other new born child, a healthy, but slightly dark looking boy, who was handed over to Rukia to carry. Ichigo looked at Rukia, who seemed both sad and happy.

"Ichigo you baka, what took you so long in coming?" she asked in a slightly sarcastic voice. "And look at you, your clothing's all torn up."

"Ah, I'm so sorry Rukia. I'm so sorry for not getting here in time," Ichigo sighed.

"It's no big deal. I'm just so glad to see you still alive and well," Rukia cried in happiness.

* * *

Notes: As promised, this chapter sees the conclusion of the Ichigo and Grimmjow fight, as well as the birth of Ichigo and Rukia's twins. The aftermath of the birth will be explored further in the next chapter, but the most interesting part of this chapter in my view would have to be Grimmjow's flashback. Although I deliberately kept the real world references vague, I made Grimmjow to ve a Polish Jew who lived in Warsaw around the time of the Second World War. He enlisted in the Polish army, was captured by the Nazis and sent to Aushwitz/Treblinka and later gassed along with the millions of other victims of the Holocaust. For those who haven't read A Bleached Honeymoon, upon becoming a hollow, Grimmjow was transported by Aizen to Hueco Mundo, along with thousands of other hollows. Soon after that he transformed into a Gillian and remained in that state for an undetermined amount of years before evolving on an Adjucha, which is where his flashback in the manga begins.

I'll briefly explain the new techniques that Ichigo and Grimmjow demonstrate in this chapter:

Vacio Desgarron (Void Laceration in Spanish): An improved version of Grimmjow's normal Desgarron, this R2 version can slice through dimensions and attack any enemy directly.

Primera Aullido (Primal Roar in Spanish): This is basically the sonic howl that Grimmjow used in his released released form, except far more powerful.

Cero Pantera (Panther King Cero in Spanish): Grimmjow's most powerful attack, it is a unique form of cero. He charges it by drawing in spirit particles from all around him, similar to Yammy's Gonzui and concentrates the energy in his hands like Vegeta's Final Flash in DBZ. It is far more powerful than even a Cero Oscuras.

Cero Getsuga Hadou: Ichigo's most powerful attack, this move is basically a combination of Getsuga Tensho, Chouseki Hadou and his own cero in one ultimate blast that has the power of all three moves. As demonstrated in the chapter, it packs enough power to destroy Las Noches in a single shot, which would theoretically make it the most powerful move in Bleach ever.


	11. Chapter 11: Royal Visitors

**Bleach Fanstory: ****The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: Eight months after Rukia became pregnant and two months after the election of Urahara as President, the peace of Soul Society was disturbed when the former Sexta Espada Grimmjow Jaegajaquez attacked Karakura Cho, openly declaring a challenge to Ichigo. Ichigo responded to Grimmjow's challenge and travelled to Hueco Mundo, where the two of them began their final battle. Initially Grimmjow proved too strong for Ichigo in his Shikai state, but once Ichigo went Bankai, he easily overpowered Grimmjow in both his unreleased and resurrecion states. As Ichigo explained the full extent of his Bankai's abilities, Grimmjow was left with no choice but to reveal his Resurrecion Seguna form. His newfound powers overwhelmed Ichigo but when Ichigo hollowfied the gap between their strength became obvious. After Grimmjow used a final Cero Pantera attack that failed to injure Ichigo, Ichigo finished Grimmjow off with a fully charged Cero Getsuga Hadou. Grimmjow was left broken in body and spirit and only an intervention from Nel prevented Ichigo from delivering the death blow. Ichigo left Grimmjow in Nel's hands and returned to Soul Society, where he discovered that Rukia had entered labour. He barely made it in time to witness the birth of his children, Kaien and Masaki...

* * *

Chapter 11: Royal Visitors

After Rukia spent a few days recuperating at the hospital, she and Ichigo carried their newborn babies back to the Shiba Manor house. As soon as Ichigo and Rukia entered the front door Kaien and Masaki both started crying.

"Oh no, I think Kaien-chan and Masaki-chan want their mother's milk," Rukia said happily.

"We'd better give it to them then," Ichigo grinned. He assisted Rukia in carrying the babies upstairs to their third floor bedroom. Rukia sat down on the king size bed, holding Kaien in her arms.

"I'll feed Kaien first, so you're going to have to keep Masaki quiet okay?" Rukia asked.

"Alright then," Ichigo nodded. He carried Masaki over to the cradle that had been specially made for her and placed her inside. When she continued to cry, Ichigo searched around for the baby toys that his sisters had given to him. He waved a few of them over Masaki's head. To his surprise, the method worked. Masaki slowly stopped crying and started to stare at the toys. Eventually she tried to reach out for the toys but her arms were obviously too short.

"You want this don't you?" Ichigo teased his baby daughter, lowering one of the toys just enough so that Masaki could touch it, but then quickly taking it away before she could get her hands on it. Instead of crying, Masaki reacted with a series of baby giggles. Ichigo was delighted at how beautiful her face looked when she smiled.

"Ichigo, I'm done feeding Kaien. You can bring Masaki over now," Rukia called out. Ichigo took a deep breath before lifting Masaki up from the cradle. As soon as he did so she started crying.

"There, there, mummy is here to nurse you," Ichigo said. He lowered Masaki down on Rukia's lap and carried a now fast asleep Kaien over to his cradle. When Rukia finished feeding Masaki and put her to sleep in her cradle, it was already past sundown.

"Man, if this keeps up I won't have any time to take care of my duties," Ichigo said. "And I thought things would become easier once they were born."

"Baka, who do you think has to take the brunt of caring for them?" Rukia asked. "It's going to be a long while yet before I can get back to work."

"Maybe we can get someone to babysit them once they've grown a little older…what about my dad? He'll probably be delighted to take care of them."

"Are you sure about that? I don't really trust your father to handle them properly," Rukia said with skepticism. Besides, it probably would be better if they breast feed for at least the next three months."

"I suppose you're right. I'll find a way to take care of the Academy and the division whilst looking after you at the same time," Ichigo promised. True to his word, he was able to organize a schedule that allowed him to manage the activities of the Academy and his activities but also gave him enough time to spend with Rukia and his children. For three weeks life returned to normal for Ichigo and Rukia. But one day, Ichigo received a summons from the Onimitsukidou's patrol unit.

"Captain Kurosaki, the President has requested your immediate presence," a patrol officer said.

"Urahara wants to speak with me?" Ichigo asked. "Tell him I'll be there right away." The officer Shunpo-ed off, leaving Ichigo and Rukia a little confused.

"Rukia, I need to attend another meeting of the captains," Ichigo said to her. "Take care of yourself and the babies okay?"

"Of course I will you baka," Rukia smiled. Ichigo sped off to the inner chambers of the Council of 46. Upon arriving at the President's conference room, he saw the other captains and Urahara himself were already present.

"Ah, Kurosaki-san, you're here at last," Urahara said. "I have an announcement that might hold special interest for you. A messenger from the King's Realm came to my office yesterday to inform me that the King and his Royal Guard will be paying a visit to Soul Society."

"The King is going to come here?" the thirteen captains all asked with stunned reactions.

"Yep, they're here to commemorate the first anniversary of the liberation of Soul Society from Aizen's rule," Urahara explained. "In addition, the King has heard about the births of your two children, Kurosaki-san, and he told me that he'll be coming here to give his blessings to both of them." For a while Ichigo was too shocked to see a word.

"I'm really flattered, Urahara-san. To think the King of Soul Society would bestow such an honour upon my children," Ichigo smiled.

"Why wouldn't he? It's been decades since spirits were born to any of the noble families, especially one as prestigious as the Shiba family. Also, I think an occasion as momentous as the anniversary of our victory deserves a special celebration."

"That's a good idea, Urahara," the Commander General Unohana said. "All of us should organize an event within the departments we manage." The other captains including Ichigo agreed with her proposal. Urahara ended the meeting, allowing the captains to return to their quarters and begin preparations. Ichigo first went back to the Shiba manor to check on Rukia.

"Rukia I'm home!" he called out.

"You're back sooner than I expected," Rukia said. She was holding Kaien in her arms. "How did the meeting go?"

"Well Urahara-san announced a rather special occasion," Ichigo replied. "The King and his Royal Guard are going to visit Seireitei to commemorate the anniversary of Soul Society's liberation."

"The King's going to come here?" Rukia was astonished by Ichigo's announcement.

"What's more, the King's also going to give his blessings to Kaien and Masaki. To top it all off, Urahara wants me to hold an event within the Academy."

"An event that takes place in the Academy? Do you have something in mind?"

"Sort of. I'm thinking of a festival of some kind where the students can demonstrate their talents in areas other than the standard Shinigami skills. You know, stuff like art, music, dancing, etc."

"That sounds like a great idea…I wish could help out," Rukia sighed.

"Don't worry about it. I'll have Minazawa, Mariko and Tanaka take care of most of the work. Our most important priority right now is to ensure our babies are healthy and safe when the King gives them his blessings," Ichigo said.

The next day, Ichigo went to the Academy and asked Minazawa to send a message out to every single class about the planned festival.

"Are you sure this idea will work?" Minazawa asked.

"Trust me, the students are going to love it," Ichigo said. "Also, one of the festival's major attractions is going to be a live performance of various groups in front of the Royal Family. To make sure everything goes smoothly before the actual event, I want you to stage a live dress rehearsal for the acts that are going to take part."

"I've got all that down captain. I'll do everything as you ordered straight away!" As Ichigo predicted, the news about the festival generated an unprecedented amount of activity around the Academy. He was surprised to hear that Karin and Yuzu were going to perform in an act. Ichigo's department wasn't the only that was more active than usual. Over the next week, the other ministries in Seireitei and Rukongai worked more frantically than they normally did to prepare for the King's arrival. The 1st. 2nd, 4th, and 11th divisions fully mobilized on standby as extra precautions in case there were any threats against the Royal Family. The 9th, 10th, 12th divisions started putting in place a series of widescreen television screens and other communications equipment around Seireitei and Rukongai to cope with the anticipated amount of publicity. Isshin and Renji worked hard to organize as many people in Rukongai and special guests from the real world to attend the visit. Finally, Byakuya, Love and Rose maintained the functions of law, transportation and public facilities.

* * *

A week after Urahara first broke the news, the day of the Royal Family's visit had arrived. The Kido Corps and the Onimitsukidou had configured the central Seireimon to allow beings from the King's Realm to enter Soul Society without the use of the Ouken. With most of their work finished, the thirteen captains took a break from running their departments and formed a guard of honour on both sides of the Seireimon, with Urahara standing at very end of the courtyard. Surrounding the captains and Urahara were hundreds of Shinigami and special ops personnel.

Several minutes later, the great Seireimon gates started to open. As they opened outward, everyone could see a bright yellow light on the opposite end. The first people to come through were several squads of Akuma soldiers, the basic unit of the Royal Guard's army. They were led by a dozen or so Tengu sargeants, who in turn were commanded by one or two Bakemono generals. After the hundred soldiers passed through the gate, they were followed by the Royal Guards themselves. Hamori, Uzume, Ebisu and Ajisuke formed the first row of guards. Benten, Jurojin, Bishamon and Daikoku formed the second row. The third row consisted of Jurojin, Hikifune, Marisha and Fukurokuju. The final row of guards was made up of the King's three sons, Kagutsuchi, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo. As the fifteen Royal Guards finished passing through the gates, the people everyone had been waiting for appeared.

Sitting inside a gigantic golden pavilion with a red tiled roof, which in turn was carried by twenty or so specially assigned Bakemono guards, was the king himself, Izanagi, and his daughter, the Sun Princess Amaterasu. They were accompanied by a dozen musicians that sat in the lower circle of the pavilion. The entire procession ground to a halt in front of Urahara and the thirteen captains. The fifteen Royal Guards greeted their Seireitei counterparts before parting aside to allow Izanagi and Amaterasu to climb down from the pavilion. The king and his daughter walked up to Urahara, who bowed in respect. Ichigo and the other captains also bowed in respect for Izanagi.

"It is a great honour to have you here, your majesty," Urahara said.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal," Izanagi laughed. "I actually intended this to be a holiday for my daughter and myself." The king motioned for Urahara and the captains to get up.

"I'm guessing you want to take a thorough tour around Seireitei, but first let us take you to your old residential quarters. I am sure you would like to see how they've changed."

"Of course," Izanagi smiled. Urahara led the king and his daughter through the streets of central Seireitei. They were closely followed by the captains and the Royal Guards. After about half an hour of walking, the entire procession finally at arrived at the former Royal Palace of Seireitei, now converted into the government buildings for the Council of 46. When the King and his daughter entered Urahara's Presidential suite, they were astounded at the changes that had occurred to the place that had once been their home.

"My goodness, this was supposed to be my private study room," Izanagi said as he peered into Urahara's office. "I hardly recognize it now."

"I hope you're not angry at me for usurping your role as the head of state," Urahara said humbly.

"Ha, ha, ha, of course not!" Izanagi burst out laughing and patted Urahara on the back. "I'm grateful for you to take on such a demanding job. Truth to be told, Soul Society's changed so much that I don't think it would suit me to live here again. I would like to see my old haunts again."

"Is that so? Well then I'm happy to take you to visit them. Your daughter and the Royal Guards can come along if you wish," Urahara offered. Izanagi shook his head.

"There's no need for them to come. They are free to do whatever they like." Izanagi's words surprised Susanoo and Tsukuyomi.

"But father, what if you run into danger?" Susanoo asked in an exasperated voice.

"Now, Susanoo, do you think I'm really that defenceless?" Izanagi asked. "Besides, President Urahara is more than capable of providing me protection."

"Isshin-sama, Kurosaki-kun, can you take me to visit my other self?" Amaterasu asked.

"Uh…of course we can," Ichigo replied hesitantly. "Inoue's studying at the Academy at the moment but I bet she'll be delighted to see you again." Amaterasu and the Royal Guards were all granted leave by Izanagi to go off on their own. Amaterasu promptly followed Ichigo and Isshin to the Academy. The Royal Guards chose to either accompany the captains they had been closest to or the captains of the divisions they had formerly been in. Marisha went with Unohana, Benten went with Soifon, Hamori went with Rose, Fukurokuju went with Tessai, Daikoku went with Byakuya, Ebisu went with Love, Jurojin went with Kensei, Ajisuke went with Hitsugaya, Bishamon went with Kenpachi, and Hikifune went with Mayuri. Susanoo, Tsukuyomi and Kagutsuchi decided to stick with their father. Uzume decided to follow after Isshin.

Ichigo and Isshin led Amaterasu to the front entrance of the Shinigami Academy. The three of them were about to go inside when Uzume suddenly came rushing from behind.

"Wait up Isshin! I want to go with you!" she called out. When Isshin saw her face, he froze up.

"You want me to take you around?" he asked.

"As a former member of the thirteenth division, I deserve to be shown around by its current captain, shouldn't I?" Isshin looked at Ichigo, who shrugged.

"Just go with her Ojii-san. I'll be fine with Amaterasu by myself." Isshin and Uzume waved goodbye to Ichigo and Amaterasu.

"At last, it's just the two of us!" Amaterasu giggled.

"You sound just like Inoue when you laugh," Ichigo said.

"Of course I do. She and I were the same person once, remember?" Amaterasu reminded him.

"Whatever. You want to check on Inoue right? Well I think she and her school mates are about to star in a performance at the Academy's Great Hall of Spirits." As Ichigo and Amaterasu walked through the corridors of the Academy, the students they walked by all fell onto their knees and gasped.

"Why are they all reacting to us like that?" Amaterasu asked.

"It's not often that these students would get the chance to see the Headmaster of the Academy and the Sun Princess in the flesh at the same time," Ichigo grinned.

"Gosh, I didn't know I was so revered," Amaterasu giggled again. When the two of them arrived at the Great Hall of Spirits and entered, they saw that the first performances of the festival had already started. Though Ichigo tried to make his entrance into the hall as discreet as possible, nearly everyone in the audience turned their attention towards Amaterasu and him as soon as they appeared. Not wanting to be stared at for too long, Ichigo spied some seats near the front rows that had been reserved for him. When he got to the front, he was astonished to see Rukia sitting there with Kaien and Masaki beside her.

"Rukia what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I came to see the performances," Rukia replied. "Karin and Yuzu made me promise to see them live on stage."

"Oh my, it's Kuchiki-san!" Amaterasu exclaimed as she appeared from behind Ichigo's back.

"Princess Amaterasu..." Rukia stuttered. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"You two Kuchiki san-wait a minute, are those two babies yours?" Amaterasu asked.

"Yep, their names are Kaien and Masaki," Rukia replied cheerfully. "They were both a month ago." Amaterasu sat down on the seat beside the twins whilst Ichigo sat down beside Rukia.

"Oh my god they're so cute!!" Amaterasu giggled. "Can I hold one of them?"

"Uh… sure you can. Just be careful with them, and don't make them cry."

"I won't." Ichigo and Rukia watched closely as Amaterasu lifted Kaien out of his cradle and carried him gently in her arms. The whole process was done so smoothly Rukia wondered if Amaterasu was a natural at caring for children.

"Hey, what's the next act going to be?" Ichigo whispered.

"Uh, I think it's A wing performing 'the Illiad'," Rukia said. A few minutes later, D wing's act ended and as Rukia predicted the students from A wing came on stage. Ichigo was amused to see that they were all wearing togas, and that Paris from the Laodemon clan was the lead actor.

"Isn't Paris playing his namesake in the play?" he whispered to Rukia, who nodded.

"It's ironic that he's chosen a performance based on his own family's past history."

The play turned out to be less interesting than Ichigo had imagined, as it followed the original legend of Troy very closely. When the play finished and Ichigo's third seat Minazawa announced that the next performance was from B wing, Ichigo, Rukia all paid close attention. The first actors to come on stage were two of Ichigo's former Karakura classmates, Michiru and Ryo. They were soon followed by a brown-haired boy that Ichigo recognized but couldn't quite make out his name.

"Ichigo, isn't he the boy who was trapped in the parakeet?" Rukia whispered.

"You're right, he does look like home. I think I met him when I visited Rukongai the first time," Ichigo replied. They didn't have much time to ponder the boy's identity, for a short while later Mizuiro appeared on stage, dressed up like Don Kanonji. He was followed by Karin, Orihime, Tatsuki, Keigo and Chizuru. The five of them quickly changed into what looked like superhero outfits.

"It's Orihime-chan at last!" Amaterasu exclaimed. "But why is she wearing that cheesy looking outfit?" Ichigo and Rukia knew quite well what the entire play was about.

"I should have known they'd do something like this," Ichigo chuckled and sighed.

"Don Kanonji's act must have been incredibly popular for all of them to copy the Karakura superheroes idea," Rukia smiled. The rest of the play was very enjoyable for Ichigo, Rukia and Amaterasu to watch, as it brought back fond memories of Don Kanonji's infamous visit to Karakura Town. When the play finished with all of the actors dancing around on the stage, Ichigo, Rukia and Amaterasu all gave raucous applause.

After the play, Ichigo, Rukia and Amaterasu immediately went to find Orihime, Karin and the others, with Kaien in Rukia's arms and Amaterasu holding Masaki. They eventually found the B wing students back at their dormitory. As Ichigo entered the door he caused everyone inside to gasp in surprise.

"Onii-san, Rukia-san!" Karin and Yuzu called out and ran towards them.

"Who's the other woman standing beside Rukia holding the baby?" Tatsuki asked.

"I think that's…oh my god it's Amaterasu-hime!" Orihime exclaimed. She got up and ran toward Amaterasu, who gave Masaki back to Ichigo to hold.

"It's good to see you again Orihime-chan," Amaterasu smiled as she hugged her former host body around the waist. "I was worried about your safety.

"Oh I'm perfectly fine," Orihime said. "What about you Amaterasu-hime?"

"Call me Ammy-san," Amaterasu corrected Orihime. "And I'm okay as well. After Aizen was defeated and father got his throne back we made a lot of changes to our palace, so it's a lot more comfortable now."

"That's good to hear," Orihime said. "Hey, do you want me to show you around the dormitory?"

"Of course I would! Let's go Orihime-chan!" Ichigo watched as Orihime led Amaterasu by the hand. He couldn't help but notice how similar the two of them were in personality. It was like seeing two versions of the same person. Just then, the fifth seat Tanaka knocked on the door of the dormitory.

"Captain Kurosaki, I just received a message from the Special ops saying that the King wants to see you," Tanaka said.

"Oh, it's that moment already? I guess we'd better take Kaien and Masaki over there now," Ichigo said. Rukia nodded. The two of them said goodbye to Karin, Yuzu, Tatsuki and the other students before making their way out of the Academy. They then walked slowly towards the Central 46 compounds. Upon reaching the Courtyard of Reflection, they saw that the King was already waiting for them, along with Urahara, Isshin, Byakuya and the King's three sons.

"You've come at last Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia," Izanagi said. "I was wondering where the two of you where."

"We were showing your daughter around the Shinigami Academy," Ichigo replied.

"The Shinigami Academy eh," Izanagi pondered. "I would like to see it myself but I guess there's not enough time to do so."

"What sort of blessing are you going to give our children?" Rukia asked.

"It's one that I used to bestow on any child who was born to a noble family," Izanagi explained. "The blessing is meant to provide them with a portion of my will and also endow with them good luck." He instructed the Kido corps members and his own personal priests to grab some water from the courtyard's reflection pool. Izanagi then motioned to Ichigo and Rukia to walk to the platform in the middle of the pool and place Kaien and Masaki on the dais. The two of them stood side by side and looked on eagerly as Izanagi walked up to the dais.

Izanagi's priests handed the king a jug of water from the reflect pool. He poured some of the jug's water into a small basin. Then, after dipping his fingers in the basin, he wiped the water onto Kaien and Masaki's foreheads. Izanagi finished by chanting a long and complicated Kidou spell that neither Ichigo nor Rukia could understand. A few seconds later the two of them gasped when their babies started to glow with a bright yellow light.

"May the light of heaven shine upon you from this point forward until they day you become one with the Sea of Souls," Izanagi said. During the whole process, Kaien and Masaki regarded Izanagi with a sense of curiosity and wonder. Kaien even tried to pull Izanagi's beard, causing Izanagi to chuckle slightly. When the blessing was finished, Izanagi handed the children back to Ichigo and Rukia.

"I thank you for bestowing such a gift on our children," Rukia bowed.

"No need to thank me. I should still be thanking the two of you for saving my life and my daughter's," Izanagi said. "Think of this as a token of my appreciation." Shortly afterwards, the King reunited with Amaterasu and the other Royal Guards, who had finished touring Seireitei with their respective captains. As the Kido Corps re-opened the Seireimon, the delegation from the King's Realm received a much larger send off. Urahara and the thirteen captains were present, along with their Lieutenants, the top twenty seats in all thirteen divisions and the majority of the nobles in Seireitei. The King ascended to the top of his golden pavilion and gave a final departure speech.

"I thank all of you for the hospitality you have showed us," Izanagi's voice reverberated throughout Seireitei. "After what I've seen today, I believe that Soul Society has a bright future ahead of it. This certainly won't be the last time I shall visit here again, but it will forever be etched in my memory as the fondest." With that the King and his daughter Amaterasu were carried off through the Seireimon by their servants, followed by the fifteen Royal Guards. When the final Akuma soldier went through and the gate was shut, all of the people who had met the King in person sighed deeply.

"I bet Kaien and Masaki will remember this day for the rest of their lives," Ichigo said.

"Of course they will," Rukia smiled. "As will we."

* * *

Notes: This chapter sees the special return of the the Spirit King, Princess Amaterasu and the Royal Guards. For those who have read Bleach: After the War, the names of the Royal Guards will all be familiar, but for those who haven't, I'll give a brief explanation. The Royal Guards, along with Izanagi and Amaterasu, all have their names based on Japanese gods of mythology. In terms of Bleach mythology, most of the Royal Guards used to be captains of the Gotei 13, or part of the King's personal guard when the Royal Family lived in Soul Society.

This is the penultimate chapter of The New Order. The next chapter will be the final chapter, and will feature several surprises for long time readers.


	12. Chapter 12: The Great Christmas Party

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Bleach Fanstory:

**The New Order**

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters that appear that were created by Kubo, apart from original characters that I created myself.

This is the sequel to A Bleached Honeymoon, and the second part of the New Order Trilogy. Parts of it will overlap with Shinigami Academy, the third part of the trilogy.

Story so far: After returning from their honeymoon, Ichigo and Rukia find out that Rukia is pregnant. In the following eight months, Ichigo embarks on an ambitious reform of Soul Society as civilian rule is retored. With the help of his fellow captains, Urahara and Kukaku and Ganju, Ichigo fashions a new government for Soul Society. Along the way, he confronts many challenges, from the politically ambitious Laodemons, to a final battle with Grimmjow. Through it all, Ichigo perserveres and after Rukia finally gives birth to a pair of twins, they receive a surprising reward from the most unlikeliest of people: the King of Soul Society. The Spirit King, his daughter Amaterasu and his Royal Guard visit Soul Society to commemorate the anniversay of its liberation from Aizen's ruke. As part of the ceremonies, the king blesses Kaien and Masaki, Ichigo and Rukia's children, bestowing upon them a portion of his luck and fortune...

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Chapter 12: The Big Christmas Party

The visit of the Royal Family caused a sensation throughout Seireitei and Rukongai for a good two weeks, as numerous people bickered back and forth as to whether they had personally met the King. Eventually the fuss died down and Soul Society returned to normal. Rukia still stayed at home to care for Kaien and Masaki most of the time, with Ichigo handling the bulk of the fifth division and Shinigami Academy duties. The twins grew at a rapid pace, for within two months of their birth they had already doubled in size.

Two weeks into December, Karin and Yuzu finished their year at the Academy. The two sisters made an entrance when they came home, with Karin almost breaking the front door as she stomped inside.

"Oh yeah, school's finally over!" Karin exclaimed. "Now I can finally relax."

"You shouldn't make such a scene Karin-chan, or else Onii-san will get mad at you," Yuzu said.

"I don't think he'll care much about it," Karin said as she stomped upstairs to her room.

"Karin!" Yuzu was about to chase after her sister, when she heard the door open behind her.

"Hey, you're home at last Yuzu-chan," Ichigo said. "Is Karin here as well?" Yuzu nodded.

"She's gone up to her room already."

"I see. Well then, I am guessing you're both happy that the Academy year has finished for now. But don't forget that the Academy starts again next February."

"I know all about that Onii-chan. But now that we don't have to go to school anymore, Karin and I can help Rukia-san take care of the babies."

"I'm sure Rukia would be delighted at the gesture," Ichigo smiled. He walked over to a calendar beside the wall and checked on the date. It was then that he realized how close Christmas was.

"What do you know, Christmas is less than two weeks away," he said. "Would you and Karin like to have a special party to celebrate it?"

"A Christmas party?" Yuzu asked. "Do we even celebrate it here in Soul Society?"

"Of course we do," Rukia said as she walked down the stairs. "Prior to my execution and the subsequent Arrancar war, all of the divisions used to hold some sort of party to celebrate Christmas time. I'm not sure where the tradition came from but I still fondly remember some of the parties I had when I was still in thirteenth division,"

"So each of the divisions had their own little party huh? Well then, I guess this year we'd better do something special. How about we hold one great big party and invite as many people over as possible?" Ichigo asked. Rukia and Yuzu were surprised by the idea.

"Just how many people are you talking about Ichigo?" Rukia asked. "You do realize there's a limit to the number of people we can fit into our house."

"Something in the order of thirty or forty people would be enough. It's not going to be something as lavish as the Spirit King's visit was. Hmm…perhaps we could invite the other captains and lieutenants and a few relatives and friends like Urahara, Ganju and Kukaku."

"That sounds like a good idea, although we'll have to send out invitations first just in case some of the captains and lieutenants refuse to come," Rukia said.

"Hey, Onii-san, you've forgot about our school friends!" Yuzu objected. "What about Orihime-san and Tatsuki-san? Aren't you going to invite them along?"

"You're right Yuzu, how could we forget about them?" Ichigo laughed at his own stupidity. "They can come too, along with Ishida and Chad. I'm not sure where they've been, but I bet they'll come if we send them invitations."

"What's all this talk about a party?!" the voice of Isshin suddenly boomed from the front door. It was so loud that Ichigo, Rukia, Yuzu and Karin were all startled. "There is no way I'm going to let you kids get away with planning something without my help!!" Ichigo simply rolled his eyes at the childish way his father still acted. In the days leading up to Christmas, Ichigo, Isshin, Yuzu and Karin worked hard at sending letters to as many people as possible. Ichigo contacted the other captains along with Urahara, Ganju and Kukaku. Of the twelve other captains, five of them, Hitsugaya, Kenpachi, Kensei, Rose and Love, weren't interested. The remaining captains however were intrigued by the concept of a party and sent reply letters to Ichigo indicating that they would come. Isshin sent his lieutenant Hiyori and third seats Kiyone and Sentaro to scour the real world in search of Ishida and Chad. Finally Karin and Yuzu contacted as many of their friends in the Academy.

As her husband, father and sisters-in-law were sending out invitations, Rukia tried to prepare the ingredients and food that were going to be cooked at the party. The garden around the manor house had a garden that was full of vegetables and fruit. For the meat, rice and other hard to find items, Rukia made several trips to Karakura Cho using the newly completed underground rail network. Pushing a pram with Kaien and Masaki inside, she managed to shop around the market stores and bought as much as she could, and requested the bulkier items be delivered to the front door.

When Christmas day finally arrived, Ichigo, Isshin, Yuzu and Karin were astounded by the amount of food that Rukia had managed to gather up and store in the pantry.

"My god, you bought all of this by yourself?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, I had help from Kukaku's associates," Rukia admitted. "They transported the bulkier products."

"Still, I'm impressed that you were able to do all that shopping whilst taking care of Karin and Masaki." Ichigo sifted through the pantry, sorting out the foods that were to be cooked first.

"Do you want us to help Onii-san?" Yuzu asked. "I know a lot of tasty dishes."

"Of course you can help. All of us will have to dig in to get the place ready in time for the party."

"I'll start up the outside grill Ichigo," Isshin said. Ichigo nodded.

"I didn't know we had a grill," Karin said.

"I bought it during a visit to Karakura Cho," Isshin replied. During the early to late morning, all five members of the Shiba household worked hard to get the house set up for the first guests to arrive. Rukia helped Yuzu cook the dishes, Isshin set up the outside tables and worked on the grill, and Ichigo and Karin cleaned and dusted the interior of the house before setting up the dining room table.

At quarter past noon, the buzzer outside the gates of the manor sounded. When Ichigo went to answer it he saw Byakuya, Renji, Nanao and Lisa waiting outside.

"Morning Ichigo!" Renji greeted. "Or should that be afternoon? Anyway, mind if we come in?"

"What a dumb question to ask. Of course you can all come in!" Ichigo opened the gate and allowed the four of them to enter the property.

"This place feels smaller and less intricate than my family's manor," Byakuya commented.

"Don't compare our house to yours," Ichigo said. "It might be ten times smaller than your vast mansion, but it's got a few things that will surprise you." As Ichigo showed them inside, the four guests were stunned at how modern the entire house looked.

"Wow, this house is so futuristic," Nanao commented. "I wonder who designed it."

"Shiba Kukaku's company furnished most of the interior," Ichigo said. He led Byakuya, Renji, Nanao and Lisa to the dining and kitchen areas, where Rukia, Yuzu and Karin were still busily preparing the meals.

"Nii-sama! Renji! It's good to see you again!" Rukia exclaimed.

"It's good to see you too Rukia," Renji smiled.

"How are you feeling Rukia? Have you recovered from the pregnancy?" Byakuya asked.

"I'm feeling fine," Rukia blushed slightly. "I'm probably not back to fighting shape but I can move around a lot easier now."

"What about the babies? How are they doing?" Nanao and Lisa asked.

"You want to see them? I'll gladly show you," Rukia said. She led the two other girls up the stairs. Ichigo in the meantime showed Byakuya and Renji around the house, including the backyard, where Isshin had just started cooking the first pork and chicken pieces on the grill.

"Ah, Byakuya, Renji, you've come here sooner than I expected," Isshin grinned.

"What kind of equipment are you using to cook the meet, Isshin?" Byakuya.

"It's a grill. I bought it from Kukaku's company. Urahara gave her the designs from the models he had seen in the real world and she was able to mass produce them," Isshin replied.

"It looks a fairly handy invention," Renji said.

"Want to give it a go?" Isshin offered Renji a pair of tongs. Renji took up the offer and took over the cooking of the meat. At this was going on, Ichigo heard the buzzer of the outside gates sound again. He ran to the front door of the manor and opened it.

"Hello Kurosaki-san!" Urahara called out in his trademark shopkeeper's smile. He was accompanied by Soifon, Yoruichi, Tessai, Hachigen, Jinta and Ururu.

"Looks like everyone from the Urahara Shoten is here," Ichigo smiled. He let them all inside and showed them around the property.

"This manor looks so different compared to the last time I was here," Yoruichi said.

"Ah, that is because Isshin requested Kukaku and I to change the overall design of the property," Urahara replied. "He didn't like how run-down the old manor house looked." The six new guests were shown around the interior of the house before joining Byakuya and Renji in the outside dining area. Rukia, Nanao and Lisa, who had finished checking on Kaien and Masaki, came downstairs and greeted the new visitors.

"Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, Tessai-san, Captain Soifon, it's a pleasure to see you all again," Rukia said. The four of them gave their greetings to Rukia. At this point, Yuzu and Karin had almost finished preparing the non-grilled dishes. They laid some of the dishes out on the dining table and placed the rest on the outside dining table.

"Well then, now that most of the dishes are ready, I suppose we can start eating," Ichigo said. Apart from Isshin and Yuzu, who continued cooking, everyone else grabbed a plate or a bowl and got stuck into the sumptuous food.

* * *

Although the Shiba Manor was clearly the centre of action in Seireitei on Christmas day, it was not the only place that had a lot of people gathered around. Inside the captain's quarters of the eleventh division, another party was under way. Hitsugaya, Kensei, Love, Rose and Kenpachi, the captains who declined to participate in the Shiba family's party, decided to hold a Christmas bash of their own. The five captains, along with their lieutenants and a few third seats, gathered inside Kenpachi's private living quarters. They were joined by Keigo, Mizuiro and Mizuho, who, because of Mizuho's marriage to Ikkaku, were allowed to stay inside the eleventh division's barracks.

"I'm bored," Kensei said. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"Maybe we should have joined Ichigo's party instead," Rose recommended.

"And hang around with those mostly upper class nobles?" Kenpachi asked. "They probably don't have any Sake around."

"Speaking of Sake, why don't we do something fun with it?" Matsumoto suggested.

"What is your definition of fun Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya asked.

"How about a drinking game where we have to perform some funny acts or else be forced to drink a lot?" Mashiro, Hiyori and Love seemed to like Matsumoto's idea."

"That sounds a lot like 'Do or Dare'," Hiyori said.

"You're right, we used to play that game all the time in the real world," Mashiro said.

"It would be a good game to play on Christmas day," Love nodded.

"How does this game work?" Kira and Hisagi asked. "We've never heard of it.

"We'll explain how to play it," Kensei said. "But first we'll need to grab as much Sake as possible, the game board itself and as much food as possible."

"Leave the Sake to us," Ikkaku said. "I know a place that sells huge casks of it at cheap prices."

"What about the food darling?" Mizuho asked. "I'm the only one who knows how to cook around here!" Much to Ikkaku's dismay, he was forced to accompany Mizuho to the shops. In the mean time, the others went about designing a game board based on Kensei and Love's instructions. With up to seventeen people potentially playing, the board had to be big enough to accommodate everyone. The final design of the board ended up being a two metre wide piece of cloth with a spiritual compass medium placed over it to act as a spinner. Etched onto the cloth were about a dozen different 'Do or Dare' possibilities.

"This is going to be so exciting," Hinamori giggled.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Shiba Manor, the Christmas party was becoming even livelier. As Ichigo and his friends and relatives were in the middle of eating lunch, the buzzer on the front gate rang again. Ichigo got up and went to open door, and received a shock when he saw how many people were standing outside. In addition to Commander General Unohana, Mayuri, their respective lieutenants Isane and Nemu, and the thirteenth division's Kiyone, Ichigo's former nakama Orihime, Tatsuki and their Academy friend Shibata Yuichi had also come along.

"Happy Christmas day, Captain Kurosaki," Unohana said. "Mind if we come in?"

"Of course you can, Commander, Captain Kurotsuchi," Ichigo allowed them to enter. He then looked at Orihime, Tatsuki and Yuichi.

"Inoue, Tatsuki and eh...who are you again?" Ichigo asked.

"He's Shibata Yuichi," Orihime said. "Karin and Yuzu are good friends with him."

"Oh yes, Shibata Yuichi, I remember you!" Ichigo exclaimed. "You're the boy who was trapped in the parakeet. We met once in person when I first came to Soul Society."

"It's nice meeting you again too, eh, um, Captain Kurosaki," Yuichi stuttered. "I want to thank you for giving me an opportunity to become a Shinigami."

"There's no need to thank me. Now come on you three. Karin and Yuzu are waiting for you." Orihime, Tatsuki and Yuichi followed Ichigo through the manor grounds and around to the backyard dining area, where everyone else had gathered. When Karin and Yuzu, who had finished cooking all of the dishes, saw Orihime, Tatsuki and Yuichi, they rushed over to greet them.

"Orihime-san, Tatsuki-san, Yuichi-kun!" they both called out as they hugged their friends.

"Your house is so lovely, Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan," Orihime smiled.

"We'll show you all of it later, but first, let's all eat," Karin said. Ichigo was about to sit down beside Rukia when he heard the front gate's buzzer ring again.

"I can't believe there are more guests to come," Ichigo chuckled to himself. He opened the gate and received a surprise when he saw the people waiting outside.

"Ishida, Chad, Ganju, Kukaku!!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I didn't expect you all to come."

"Why wouldn't we come?" Ishida asked. "Your father said this was a once-off gathering of all of our old nakama, so how could Chad and I refuse?"

"It took us a while to get here though," Chad said. "I have to thank Kukaku-san here for giving us the clearances to enter Seireitei again."

"No need to thank me Sado-san," Kukaku grinned.

"We'll have plenty of time to catch up on what we've all done in the past year but first you guys better get something to eat. The others might finish most of the food if you don't hurry," Ichigo said. Chad, Ishida, Ganju and Kukaku followed Ichigo to the backyard dining area, where two dozen other people were already seated and eating. When Rukia, Orihime and Renji saw Ishida and Chad, they hastily set aside two seats for them.

"Uryu, Chad, over here!!" Renji called out. Ishida and Chad quickly sat down beside Renji, and opposite Ichigo and Rukia. As the two of them started eating they began a light conversation with Ichigo, Rukia and Renji.

"So this is your new house, Kurosaki," Ishida said. "It's quite impressive."

"It looks more like the mansion of a millionaire," Chad added.

"Aw shucks, this is nothing compared to the Kuchiki Manor," Ichigo laughed. "Byakuya's house has like fifty bedrooms. We've only got like six."

"Still, I could tell from the moment Chad and I came to Soul Society again that a lot has happened," Ishida said. "Karakura Cho's turned into a futuristic looking city, Kukaku and Ganju are like corporate tycoons, and Urahara's the President."

"We wouldn't be lying if we said that this year has been one rollercoaster ride," Rukia said. "For Ichigo and I especially. But I bet you and Chad must have done some interesting things during this time."

"I suppose we have, haven't we?" Ishida looked at Chad, who agreed. "I was involved a high profile murder case involving Maria Rosenfeld, who was killed by the same terrorists responsible for the Warsaw hollowfication attacks."

"Maria Rosenfeld was murdered?" Ichigo and Rukia asked in dismay. "Did you manage to track down the killers?" Ishida nodded.

"It took nearly a year and I needed the help of Maria's granddaughter Teresa Rosenfeld, but we eventually found the people responsible and brought them to justice," Ishida said.

"What about you Chad? I heard from a few Onimitsukidou patrol officers that they spotted someone who looked like you in Mexico," Renji said.

"You're right, I was in Mexico for quite a while," Chad admitted. "I went there to find out the truth behind my father's dead and subsequent possession by a hollow. The search led me to an ancient Mayan city, where I discovered this big hole of sorts that I think leads straight to the underworld."

"The underworld? Do you mean Hell?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but I recall fighting a host of monsters that resembled demons of some sort."

"Maybe we should continue our discussion inside," Rukia suggested. "The other captains who are around may have overheard us." Chad and Ishida agreed with Rukia's idea. As the lunch time meal winded down, most of the guests headed inside and tried out the activities and leisure equipment Ichigo had set up before hand. Yuzu, Karin and the other Academy students, along with Jinta and Ururu, played on the portable entertainment system in the family room. Byakuya, Unohana, Mayuri, Soifon and their lieutenants headed for the lounge room to share cups of tea and discussion. After they finished cleaning the outside tables, Isshin, Urahara, Tessai, Ganju and Kukaku started up a game of cards at the inside dining table. Finally, Ichigo, Rukia, Ishida, Chad and Renji went to Ichigo's private study room and continued their earlier conversation.

* * *

As the Christmas Lunch at the Shiba Manor finished, the festivities at the eleventh division barracks were just beginning. Ikkaku and Mizuho returned at ten past two in the afternoon with a whole cart full of Sake and other food. Kensei, Rose and Love divided up the Sake and food between everyone. Then, with all seventeen people present, the 'Do or Dare' drinking game began.

"Alright, let's have a quick dice game to decide who goes first," Kensei said. "Each of us will role three dice within this bowl and the person with the highest number gets to spin the wheel first." After everyone had a go at rolling the dice, the person with the highest number ended up being Hitsugaya.

"Looks like you're the first up, Taicho," Matsumoto said.

"Don't forget to drink first before you spin, Toshiro!" Hinamori reminded him.

"Um, alright," Hitsugaya sighed. He quaffed down an entire bottle of Sake before spinning the giant wheel. The spinning marker ended up landing on a 'Do' rectangle.

"Well, well, well you've landed yourself an interesting 'Do'," Kenpachi, who sat opposite the rectangle, grinned. "It says you have to eat the food you dislike the most."

"Ah, Taicho hates spicy food the most!" Matsumoto exclaimed. "Do we have any spicy food around?" As it turned out, Mizuho had managed to buy a few jars of Tabasco sauce at the Karakura Cho market. She half-emptied one jar into a small cup and handed it over to now anxious and sweating Hitsugaya. With everyone else goading him on, he hesitantly placed a spoonful of the sauce in his mouth. As soon as the sauce touched his tongue, Hitsugaya screamed out.

"WATER!! I NEED WATER!!!" he shouted, as the intense hotness of the sauce got to him. Hinamori handed him a whole jar of cold water and Hitsugaya managed to drink it all down within ten seconds. His reaction to the sauce caused the others, including Matsumoto and Hinamori, to burst out laughing.

"I'm never going to eat spicy stuff again," Hitsugaya panted. The next person to spin the wheel was Matsumoto, who drank a bottle of Sake and spun the wheel. She ended up with a 'Dare' rectangle.

"Uh, it says here that you can dare up to four people of the opposite sex to…um, kiss each other," Kira read the description nervously.

"Ahaha, that's a good one!" Matsumoto laughed. 'Let's see, how about you, Shuhei, Ikkaku and Yumichika, all kiss each other?" The four people she selected freaked out at the idea, but they had no choice but to do it. Ikkaku paired up with Kira, whilst Hisagi paired up with Yumichika. With utter revulsion on all of their faces, they locked lips as the people around cracked themselves up laughing.

"I must say, that wasn't so bad at all," Yumichika thought out loud. Ikkaku, Kira and Hisagi glared at him. The next person to spin the wheel was Hiyori. She drank a bottle of Sake and spun the marker. It ended up on a 'Do' rectangle, right beside Rose, whose face turned a bright red.

"Oh my, it says here that you and every single other female in this room has to wear skimpy tight bikinis," Rose said.

"So all we have to do is change into bikinis huh?" Hiyori asked. "That sounds easy."

"Wait, there's more! They have to undress and change in front of everyone!" Rose exclaimed. As soon as he read the second clause all of the women including Hiyori reacted with astonishment. As the men goaded them on with slightly perverted faces, Hiyori and the other females grabbed the bikinis that Kensei had asked them to bring in before hand and started to undress in the room. Of all the women, only Matsumoto, Mashiro and Yachiru weren't embarrassed about becoming stark naked and baring their breasts. Most hastily undressed and put on their bikinis. Fortunately for the women, they were allowed to cover themselves with their hakamas.

The next person to spin the wheel was Mizuiro. Like the others he drank a bottle of Sake before spinning the marker. It landed on a 'Dare' rectangle in front of Yachiru.

"Let's see…it says here that you can dare four strong guys to challenge each other in an arm wrestling match," Yachiru said.

"Four strong guys and an arm wrestling match huh," Mizuiro said. "I know! How about you four captains!" He pointed to Kenpachi, Kensei, Rose and Love.

"An arm wrestling match sounds like a good idea," Love said.

"It'd be a way to test our strength against each other without going into an all-out battle," Kenpachi grinned. Kensei and Love agreed. The four captains paired off, with Kenpachi against Kensei and Rose and Love. The others started shouting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and the girls motioned for them to begin. The two matches played out in completely different fashions. Love won almost instantly, overpowering an unprepared Rose and slamming his arm down on the floor. Kensei and Kenpachi however were evenly matched. Their muscles bulged out and sweat flowed from their brows as they tried to overpower the other. Eventually, Kenpachi managed to take advantage of Kensei's momentary weakness and slam his arm to the ground.

"Yay, Ken-chan wins!" Yachiru exclaimed loudly. As Kenpachi, Kensei, Rose and Love nursed their sore arms, the next one up, Mizuho, drank a bottle of Sake and spun the wheel. It ended up in a 'Do' rectangle beside Mashiro. When Mashiro read what it was, her face started turning red.

"Heh, heh, it says here you have to perform a slave and mistress act with two other guys," Mashiro said. Mizuho was confused for a second, but when she realized what it meant, she cast her gaze at Keigo and Mizuiro. Hiyori handed her a metre long whip.

"Alright you two, time to become my slaves," Mizuho grinned.

"Wait Nee-san, we're not ready yet!" Keigo complained.

"Silence!" Mizuho shouted, whipping Keigo's arse. She ordered Keigo and Mizuiro to undress down to their underpants and placed collars around their necks. She then proceeded to whip their butts whilst riding them both like a jockey.

"Keigo, does your sister enjoy doing something like this?" Mizuiro asked.

"She does it all the time," Keigo cried. The others cracked up laughing at the whole spectacle. The game continued through the rest of the afternoon and well into the night, with the seventeen players getting drunker and drunker as they were forced to perform more ridiculous acts. By the end of the night, almost every single one of them was either half or full naked, and completely intoxicated with Sake.

* * *

For the people at the Shiba Manor, things were much more wholesome than the Sake-filled antics of the eleventh division. After Ichigo, Isshin, Yuzu and Karin served up a much smaller dinner for the two dozen or so guests, Rukia was in charge of the most anticipated part of the party-the handing out of presents. In addition to buying the food for the party, she had also taken the liberty of preparing presents for each of the guests they had invited. Now with everyone crowded into the enormous lounge room at the front of the manor house, Rukia stood beside a Christmas tree that Ichigo had set up a few days before.

"Alright everyone, on behalf of Ichigo and myself; we're giving each and every one of you a special present as a token of appreciation for what you've all done for us over the years," Rukia said. "I'm going to read out names from a list and when you're called, Ichigo will hand you your present." As Rukia read out the names, each of the guests walked in front of Ichigo and received a present. What Ichigo and Rukia didn't expect however, was for each of the guests to also give them a present in return. Byakuya gave Rukia a fine silk scarf, Renji gave Ichigo an engraved key chain, Urahara gave them both an automated dog gigai, Kukaku and Ganju gave Rukia a home cooking set, Unohana, Mayuri and Soifon each gave Ichigo a framed set of their division insignias, Orihime and Tatsuki handed Rukia a male and female doll for their babies to play with, Chad gave Ichigo a relic he had found in ancient Palenque and finally Ishida gave Rukia an elegant dress he had hand stitched by himself.

Isshin, Karin and Yuzu weren't left without presents, as they too received a stack of items and handed an equal amount of out in return. By the end of the night, the stack of presents under the Shiba family tree was just as large as it was in the morning.

"I thank you all for taking the time to come here and celebrate Christmas with us," Ichigo said to everyone. "We had a wonderful time sharing our memories with you guys. After everything that we've been through over the past year, I couldn't think of a better way to end it." With that, all of the guests in the room clapped and cheered. Then one by one they started to leave. Unohana, Soifon and Mayuri went first, followed by their lieutenants. Urahara left with Kukaku, Ganju, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu. Orihime, Tatsuki and Yuichi went back to the Academy. Byakuya, Renji, Nanao and Lisa returned to the Kuchiki Manor. The final two to leave were Ishida and Chad.

"Take care of yourself, Kurosaki, Kuchiki," Ishida said. "We'll see you both in the real world some day."

"As will we," Ichigo grinned as he and Rukia watched them leave. By this time, it was already well into the night, and Isshin, Yuzu and Karin had already gone to bed. Ichigo held Rukia's hand as they walked up the stairs to the bedroom where Kaien and Masaki, who had been playing around in their cribs, were now sound asleep.

"It was nice to have everyone together for such an occasion, wasn't it?" Rukia asked Ichigo.

"Yeah, it sure was," Ichigo nodded. They stared up at the night time sky as they went to sleep

* * *

Notes: This is the final chapter of the New Order, and as I promised to all the readers, it contains several surprises as well as a lot of fan service. I always wanted to get all of Ichigo's friends and relatives together in one place, and the best way to do so was to have Ichigo hold a Christmas party. However, I also knew there were numerous characters who didn't really have a close connection to Ichigo in the first place, or didn't appear much at all throughout the New Order. I thought about doing something special with them, and I came up with the idea of getting the remaining seventeen characters who weren't at the party to hold a drinking game. It was also an opportunity of providing some comedic scenes and fan service with the usual suspects like Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, Keigo and Mizuiro, Ikkaku, Yumichika and Kenpachi.

Also of note in this chapter is the cameo returns of Ishida and Chad. Although I mentioned in Chapter 4 that they weren't going to appear again in the New Order, I changed my mind as I wanted to give a brief sense of closure to their sub-stories. In any case, though the New Order is finished, the After the War series continues with Shinigami Academy.


End file.
